The Malaysian military claims it has radar evidence showing the missing Boeing 777 plane changed course and made it to the Malacca Strait.
The strait is hundreds of miles from the last location reported by civilian authorities and the development injects new mystery into the investigation of the flight’s disappearance.
Malaysian air force chief General Rodzali Daud was quoted as saying radar at a military base had detected the airliner near Pulau Perak, at the northern approach to the strait. A high-ranking military official involved in the investigation confirmed the report and said the aircraft was believed to be flying low.
Earlier it emerged that two men travelling with stolen passports on the missing plane were Iranians who had bought tickets to Europe and were probably not terrorists, according to officials. The announcement is likely to dampen speculation the disappearance was linked to terrorism.
No debris from the plane has been found. Baffled authorities have expanded their search to the opposite side of Malaysia from where it disappeared with 239 people on board.
The airline says the pilots did not send any distress signals, suggesting a sudden and possibly catastrophic incident. Speculation has ranged widely about causes, including pilot error, plane malfunction, hijacking and terrorism.
The plane took off from Kuala Lumpur on Saturday en route to Beijing. It flew across Malaysia into the Gulf of Thailand and disappeared from radar screens.