Missing Boeing 777 mystery: Search moves closer to Chennai coast

Malaysian acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said his country has sought radar data from India and other neighbouring countries to trace the plane that went missing after taking off late on Friday from Kuala Lumpur for Beijing.  

“The aircraft is still missing, and the search area is expanding,” he said. “Together with our international partners, we are pushing further east into the South China Sea and further into the Indian Ocean.”

As world awaits potential clues to plane's mysterious disappearance, US officials helping in efforts to trace the plane today said they are shifting their search to the Indian Ocean region.

“It's my understanding that based on some new information that's not necessarily conclusive - but new information - an additional search area may be opened in the Indian Ocean,” White House spokesman Jay Carney said in Washington.  

The missing jetliner carrying 227 passengers, including five Indians and one Indian-origin Canadian, and 12 crew members mysteriously vanished from radar screens an hour after taking off from Kuala Lumpur.

There has been no trace of the plane nor any sign of wreckage despite a search by the navies and military aircraft of 13 countries across Southeast Asia.

“The Malaysian authorities have requested for a search in the Bay of Bengal, expanse of which is around 9,000 sq km.  This area is approximately 900 km due West of Port Blair.  Search in this area would be undertaken by the resources of Eastern Naval Command,” a Defence Ministry statement said in Delhi.

The Joint Operations Room at Port Blair has been activated to monitor the progress of the search operations which entered the seventh day, it said.