Vanishing Malaysia Plane Remains A Mystery
Local Editor
The disappearance of the Malaysian flight MH370 is an "unprecedented mystery," Malaysia's civil aviation chief said, as a massive air and sea search entered its fourth day Tuesday without any trace of the plane or 239 people on board.
Dozens of ships and aircraft from 10 different countries scoured the water between Malaysia and Vietnam as questions mounted over possible security lapses and suspicions that a bomb or hijacking attempt could have brought down the Boeing 777-200ER, which took off from the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur en route to Beijing.
The area of the search would be widened from Tuesday, Azharuddin Abdul-Rahman, the head of Malaysia's Civil Aviation Authority, told reporters.
A senior police official told Reuters that people carrying explosives and false identity papers had tried to fly out of Kuala Lumpur in the past, and that current investigations were focused on two passengers who boarded the missing plane with stolen passports.
"We have stopped men with false or stolen passports and carrying explosives, who have tried to get past KLIA [airport] security and get on to a plane," he said. "There have been two or three incidents, but I will not divulge the details."
Interpol confirmed Sunday that at least two passengers used stolen passports and said it was checking whether others aboard had also used false identity documents.
Azharuddin said a hijacking attempt could not be ruled out as investigators explore all theories for the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.
"Unfortunately we have not found anything that appears to be objects from the aircraft, let alone the aircraft," he told a news conference. "As far as we are concerned, we have to find the aircraft. We have to find a piece of the aircraft if possible."
Azharuddin also said the two men with stolen passports did not look Asian, but he did not elaborate further. Airport CCTV footage showed they completed all security procedures, he said.
"We are looking at the possibility of a stolen passport syndicate," Azharuddin said.
About two thirds of the 227 passengers and 12 crew now presumed to have died aboard the plane were Chinese. The airline said that among the other passengers were 38 Malaysians, seven Indonesians, six Australians, five Indians, four French and three Americans. China urged Malaysia to speed up the search for the plane. "This incident happened more than two days ago, and we hope that the Malaysians can fully understand the urgency of China, especially of the family members, and can step up the speed of the investigation and increase efforts on search and rescue," Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told reporters in Beijing.
A senior source involved in preliminary investigations in Malaysia said the wreckage could have been dispersed over a very wide area. "The fact that we are unable to find any debris so far appears to indicate that the aircraft is likely to have disintegrated at around 35,000 feet," said the source.
Asked about the possibility of an explosion, the source said there was no evidence of foul play and that the aircraft could have broken up due to mechanical causes.
Flight MH370 disappeared from radar screens in the early hours of Saturday, about an hour into its flight from Kuala Lumpur, after climbing to a cruising altitude of 35,000 feet.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
Comments
