The search for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 which disappeared on Saturday March 8 has expanded exponentially, with 25 countries now involved in the Search and Rescue (SAR) operations over a wide area.
Malaysia has now requested help from Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Myanmar and other countries in the new search area, adding to the 11 countries already conducting SAR operations for the missing jetliner.
“The search was already a highly complex, multinational effort,” Acting Transport Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said at a briefing today. “It has now become even more difficult.”
The search area is now massive, spanning the borders of 11 nations and the Indian Ocean, which has poor radar coverage. “It is our hope with the new information, parties that can come forward and narrow the search to an area that is more feasible,” Hishamuddin said.
The plane continued to ping satellites for hours after losing communication, suggesting that it did not crash and proceeded to fly in a new direction. Investigators now suspect the aircraft may have been hijacked, or was set on a new course by the pilots themselves.
On Saturday, the homes of the two pilots were searched by investigators to look for clues and possible motives.
Story: The Verge
