Missing Malaysia Airlines plane ‘may have turned back’

DHAKA, March 9 (NsNewsWire) — Radar signals show a Malaysia Airlines plane that has been missing for more than 24 hours may have turned back, Malaysian officials have said.

Rescue teams looking for the plane have now widened their search area, reports BBC.

Investigators are also checking CCTV footage of two passengers who are believed to have boarded the plane using stolen passports.

Flight MH370 from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing disappeared south of Vietnam with 239 people on board.

Air and sea rescue teams have been searching an area of the South China Sea south of Vietnam for more than 24 hours.

But Malaysia’s civil aviation chief Azharuddin Abdul Rahman told a press conference in Kuala Lumpur that the search area had been expanded, to include the west coast of Malaysia.

He also said five passengers booked on to the flight did not board, though their luggage was removed.

Twenty-two aircraft and 40 ships are now involved in the search, armed forces chief Gen Zulkefli Zin said.

Air force chief Rodzali Daud said the investigation was now focusing on a recording of radar signals that showed there was a “possibility” that the aircraft turned back from its flight path.

Vietnamese navy ships which reached two oil slicks spotted earlier in the South China Sea found no signs of wreckage.