Scant Evidence of Attack on Lost Malaysia Airlines Flight
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Investigators in Malaysia are skeptical that the airliner that disappeared early on Saturday with 239 people on board was the target of an attack, US and European government sources close to the probe say.
The fate of the Malaysian airliner that vanished about an hour into its journey from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing remained a mystery, as a massive air and sea search, now in its fourth day, failed to reveal any trace of the Boeing 777 plane.
Neither Malaysia’s Special Branch, the agency leading the investigation locally, nor spy agencies in the United States and Europe have ruled out the possibility that militants may have been involved in downing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370.
But Malaysian authorities have indicated that the evidence so far does not strongly back an attack as a cause for the aircraft’s disappearance, and that mechanical or pilot problems could have led to the apparent crash, the US sources said.
“There is no evidence to suggest an act of terror,” a European security source, who added that there was also “no explanation what’s happened to it or where it is,” said in an interview with Reuters.
On Tuesday dozens of ships and aircraft from 10 countries continued to scour the seas around Malaysia and south of Vietnam as questions mounted over possible security lapses that could have led to a downing of the Boeing 777-200ER after it climbed to an altitude of 35,000 feet (10,670 metres).
Interpol confirmed on Sunday that at least two passengers used stolen passports and said it was checking whether others aboard had used false identity documents.
An Interpol spokeswoman said a check of all documents used to board the plane had revealed more “suspect passports,” which were being investigated.
“Whilst it is too soon to speculate about any connection between these stolen passports and the missing plane, it is clearly of great concern that any passenger was able to board an international flight using a stolen passport listed in Interpol’s databases,” Interpol Secretary General Ronald Noble said.
Even so, one US source said Malaysian authorities were leaning away from the theory that the plane was attacked. Their view was mostly based on electronic evidence that indicates the flight may have turned back toward the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur before disappearing.
Security analysts have been keen to stress how rare is the use of stolen passports following speculation over the two passengers travelling on stolen Austrian and Italian passports, allegedly purchased through an Iranian middleman.