Two men travelling with stolen passports on a missing Malaysia Airlines plane were Iranians who had bought tickets to Europe and were probably not terrorists, according to officials.

The search area for a missing airliner has expanded, with Malaysia Airlines saying the western coast of the country is now the focus of the hunt.

Rescuers are continuing their search for a Malaysia Airlines plane that disappeared with 239 people on board as Malaysia’s civil aviation chief said investigators were looking at “every angle”.

Investigators say an oil slick in the South China Sea is not from the missing Malaysian Airlines flight.

It is being reported that a Minister has said that Vietnam is sending helicopters to check a "floating yellow object" in the South China Sea which could be a life raft from the Malaysian Airways passenger jet that has gone missing.