DHAKA: The search operations for the missing Malaysian Airlines jetliner has widened on Sunday from 20 to 50 nautical miles, as there is still no sign of the plane which vanished over 40 hours ago.

Malaysia’s Department of Civil Aviation director-general Azharuddin Abdul Rahman said on Sunday night that the debris found near Vietnam’s Tu Chao island was not from the missing plane.

Oil spills have been found but it has not been confirmed if they came from the plane. There are now 24 aircraft and 40 ships in a massive multi-national search operation.

The air search was stopped at 7:00pm but the ships will continue searching through the night.

‘We are not ruling out any possibility,’ Azharuddin said, with reference to potential hijacking after two passengers boarded the MH370 flight with passports stolen from an Italian and an Austrian whose names appeared on the manifest.

Azharuddin declined to disclose the nationalities or describe the appearance of the men who checked in with the fake passports, reports The Straits Times.

BDST: 2045 HRS, MAR 09, 2014