Missing Malaysia Airlines plane: Police confirm one of men travelling on stolen passports was 19-year-old Iranian asylum seeker
Police have confirmed that one passenger travelling on Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 with a stolen European passport was an Iranian asylum seeker, as investigators said they were widening the search area for the missing jet by hundreds of miles.
Police chief Tan Sri Khalid Tan Sri said in a press conference this morning that the man was 19 years old, believed to be trying to migrate to Germany and not thought to be a member of a terrorist group.
Officials held up photographs of the two men who had been using stolen passports to travel, and appealed for help identifying the second.
Officials held up photographs of the two men who had been using stolen passports to travel, and appealed for help identifying the second.
Meanwhile, officials confronting the “unprecedented mystery” of the missing jet have extended the area of their search after a day filled with reports of possible sightings of debris from the aircraft ended with nothing but more frustration.
Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, the head of Malaysia's Civil Aviation Authority, said both an oil slick and a yellow object, initially thought to be to a life raft, had proved to have no link to the aircraft.
“Unfortunately we have not found anything that appears to be objects from the aircraft, let alone the aircraft,” he said. “As far as we are concerned, we have to find the aircraft. We have to find a piece of the aircraft if possible.”
In a statement, Malaysia Airlines said the western coast of the country, near the Straits of Malacca, was “now the focus” of the hunt. That is on the other side of peninsular Malaysia from where flight 370 was reported missing, meaning if the plane went down there it would have had to fly over the country. Malaysia's air force chief said Sunday there were indications on military radar that the jet may have done a U-turn.
Mr Rahman said the Malaysia Airlines statement didn't imply authorities believed the plane was now more likely to be off the western coast. “The search is on both sides,” he said.
Missing MH370: One of the impostors identified as an Iranian teen
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SEPANG: One of the impostors who boarded the MH370 flight has been identified as an Iranian, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said on Tuesday.
He said the 19-year-old man was Pouria Nour Mohammad Mehrdad.
"We believe his intended destination was Frankfurt, Germany.
"So far, we believe he is not likely to be a terrorist," Khalid said at a press conference at the Sama Sama Hotel near KLIA.
He added that Mehrdad used the passport of Austrian Christian Kozel who had reported it missing in Phuket, Thailand.
Pouria Nour Mohammad Mehrdad (left) and the second suspect who has yet to be identified.
Khalid said the man was believed to be migrating to Germany.
"When he did not arrive there, his mother contacted the authorities. She was aware he was using a stolen passport," he said.
He added that police were still investigating the identity of the second suspect.
Immigration Department director-general Datuk Aloyah Mamat said both the impostors had come into Malaysia on Feb 28 and were issued social visit passes for 90 days.
She said in both cases, the passport bearers matched the image on the biodata page.
She added that the standard operating procedure was followed by the respective officers in conducting the immigration clearance.
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