International agencies join air crash probe

International intelligence agencies have joined the investigation into the two passengers who boarded the missing Boeing 777 plane with stolen passports.

The move came as Malaysian authorities revealed that radar images showed the aircraft may have turned back before vanishing.

More than a day and half after Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 went missing, Vietnamese authorities disclosed that a door from the ill-fated plane may have been sighted. However, the final minutes before it disappearance remain a mystery.

The plane, which was carrying 239 people, lost contact with ground controllers somewhere between Malaysia and Vietnam after leaving Kuala Lumpur early Saturday morning for Beijing.

A massive international sea search has so far turned up no trace of the plane other than the sighting of an object which may have been an aircraft door. The aircraft apparently fell from the sky at cruising altitude in fine weather, and the pilots were either unable or had no time to send a distress signal — unusual circumstances under which a modern jetliner operated by a professional airline would crash.

Malaysia’s air force chief Rodzali Daud said radar indicated that the plane may have turned back, but did not give further details on which direction it went or how far it veered off course.

Authorities were checking on the identities of two passengers who boarded the plane with stolen passports. Yesterday, the foreign ministries in Italy and Austria said the names of two citizens listed on the flight’s manifest matched the names on two passports reported stolen in Thailand.

“I can confirm we have the visuals of these two people on CCTV,” Malaysian transport minister Hishammuddin Hussein said at a news conference, adding the footage was being examined. “We have intelligence agencies, both local and international, on board.”

Interpol confirmed that at least two stolen passports used by passengers on the plane were registered in its databases. It said no one had checked the databases, but added that most airlines and countries do not usually check for stolen passports.

Mr Hishammuddin said only two passengers had used stolen passports, and earlier reports that identities of two others were under investigation were not true.

In addition to the plane’s sudden disappearance, which experts say is consistent with a possible onboard explosion, the stolen passports have strengthened concerns about terrorism as a possible cause.

Al-Qaeda militants have used similar tactics to try to disguise their identities.