Missing Malaysia Airlines plane 'may have turned back'

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.
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 the search area had been
expanded, to include the west coast of
Malaysia.
Five passengers booked on the flight did not
board, he added. Their luggage was
consequently 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" the aircraft had 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.
'Suspect'
Malaysia's transport minister, Hishammuddin
Hussein, initially said at least four names on
the passenger list were "suspect".
However, he later told the BBC there were in
fact only two suspect names.
Aerial search teams have yet to spot any
wreckage
Military ships have been searching the sea
south of Vietnam
Reports suggest two of the passengers listed
as travelling - an Italian and an Austrian -
were not actually on the flight.
They had both reportedly had their passports
stolen in Thailand in recent years.
Mr Hussein said international agencies
including the FBI had joined the investigation
and all angles were being examined.
"Our own intelligence have been activated and,
of course, the counterterrorism units... from
all the relevant countries have been informed,"
he said.
"The main thing here for me and for the
families concerned is that we find the
aircraft."
Developments have been the subject of intense
media attention in Beijing
The passengers on the flight were of 14
different nationalities. Two-thirds were from
China, while others were from elsewhere in
Asia, North America and Europe.
When he was asked earlier whether terrorism
was suspected as a reason for the plane's
disappearance, Malaysian Prime Minister
Najib Razak said: "We are looking at all
possibilities but it is too early to make any
conclusive remarks."
The plane vanished at 17:30 GMT Friday
(01:30 local time Saturday).
It reportedly went off the radar south of
Vietnam.
Malaysian Airlines had previously said it last
had contact with air traffic controllers 120
nautical miles off the east coast of the
Malaysian town of Kota Bharu.
Distraught relatives and loved ones of those
on board are being given assistance at both
the arrival and departure airports.
Many have expressed anger at the lack of
information.
"I can't understand the airline company. They
should have contacted the families first
thing," a middle-aged woman told AFP news
agency at Beijing airport, after finding out her
brother-in-law was on the flight.
"I don't have any news. I'm very worried," she
said.
Some relatives said they were still hoping for
miracle, reports the BBC's John Sudworth in
Beijing.
But many others will have concluded that
there is little hope of aircraft being found, our
correspondent adds.
The aerial search was suspended overnight
but resumed on Sunday morning.
Malaysia and Vietnam have both sent planes
and naval vessels to look for the missing
flight.
The US is sending the USS Pinckney, an
Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer,
which could be in the central search area
within three hours.
US transport safety experts are also joining
the investigation.
Territorial disputes over the South China Sea
were set aside temporarily as China
dispatched two maritime rescue ships and the
Philippines deployed three air force planes
and three navy patrol ships.
Singapore is also involved, while Vietnam sent
aircraft and ships and asked fishermen in the
area to report any suspected sign of the
missing plane.
Texas firm Freescale Semiconductor says 20
of its Malaysian and Chinese employees were
on the flight, according to a statement on its
website.
Malaysia's national carrier is one of Asia's
largest, flying nearly 37,000 passengers daily
to some 80 destinations worldwide.
Correspondents say the route between Kuala
Lumpur and Beijing has become more and
more popular as Malaysia and China increase
trade.
Source: BBC NEWS