Search for missing jetliner widens to west Malaysian coast

The search for the missing Malaysian aircraft has widened to the west coast after signs that flight MH370 may have tried to turn back, as relatives of the 239 passengers and crew became increasingly frustrated.

There has been no trace of the Beijing-bound Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200 since it vanished on Saturday about an hour after it left Kuala Lumpur. “The search and rescue teams have expanded the scope beyond the flight path to the West Peninsular of Malaysia at the Straits of Malacca,” Malaysia Airlines said.

The Strait of Malacca is one of the world’s busiest shipping channels.

“The authorities are looking at a possibility of an attempt made by MH370 to turn back to Subang. All angles are being looked at. We are not ruling out any possibilities,” the airline said.

About two-thirds of the 239 people aboard the plane were Chinese. Other nationalities included 38 Malaysians, seven Indonesians, six Australians, five Indians, four French and three Americans.

The search and rescue mission has seen vessels from 10 countries, including Australia, China, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam, the Philippines, New Zealand and the US, assisting, Malaysia Airlines said. There are nine aircraft and 24 vessels deployed.

Malaysian police are investigating whether any passengers or crew on the plane had psychological or personal problems that might explain its disappearance, along with the possibility of a hijack, sabotage or mechanical failure.

Malaysian police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said there may be passengers on the flight who bought huge insurance or owed a lot of money.

There was no distress signal or radio contact indicating a problem and, in the absence of any wreckage or flight data, police have been left trawling through passenger and crew lists for potential leads.

The authorities are increasingly playing down the possibility of a terrorist incident. Suspicions were fanned by the fact that at least two passengers used stolen passports – Iranian men aged 19 and 29.

They entered Malaysia using their real passports before using the stolen European documents to board the Beijing-bound flight. Interpol said the more that emerged, the less likely it was a terrorist incident. Mr Bakar said the younger man, Pouria Nour Mohammad Mehrdad, boarded the plane using an Austrian passport. He was an illegal immigrant, whose mother was waiting for him in Frankfurt and had been in contact with authorities. “We believe he is not likely to be a member of any terrorist group, and we believe he was trying to migrate to Germany.”