Missing MH370: Some of the passengers on board

Group from China

A group of 19 painters and calligraphers were flying home after exhibiting their work in Malaysia, The Star newspaper said. Among them were China Calligraphy Artists Association vice-chairman Meng Gaosheng, 64, and oil painter Maimaitijiang Abula, 34, who is an ethnic Uighur from Xinjiang.

"All of them are very famous in China. Some of them are national-class artists, while others are provincial-level artists," said Mr Daniel Liau of Art Peninsular Enterprise, the exhibition's organiser.

Group from Malaysia

About 20 employees of Freescale Semiconductor were among 38 missing Malaysians, The Malaysian Insider online news said.

The team comprising senior managers and managers was going to Beijing for a month-long course.

Another nine were to take a different flight to Beijing yesterday, the website said.

Firman Siregar, 24, of Indonesia

His father Chrisman Siregar said in Medan, North Sumatra, that his son had only just joined oilfield services company Schlumberger. He was to be posted to Beijing for three years, media reports say.

There were six other Indonesians on board, according to the passenger manifest.

Paul Weeks, 39, of New Zealand

He was en route to Mongolia to start a new job with mining and construction equipment distributor Transwest Mongolia, said his sister Sara Weeks, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

"He was going to be based there for a month (at a time). It was a really good job, and he was going to be paid very well," she was quoted as saying.

There was another New Zealander on the flight.

Philip Wood, 50, of the US

The IBM executive from North Texas, a father of two sons, was moving from Beijing to Kuala Lumpur. He was one of the three Americans on board.

His family, in a statement reported by NBC, said Mr Wood was "incredibly generous, creative and intelligent".

Muktesh Mukherjee, 42, of Canada

He was based in Beijing as vice-president of Xcoal Energy and Resources, according to his LinkedIn page. He was one of two Canadians on board.

Indian newspaper The Telegraph identified Mr Mukherjee as a grandson of former steel and mines minister Mohan Kumaramangalam, who served in the Indira Gandhi Cabinet.

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