Missing plane 'may have turned back'

Radar signals show that a Malaysia Airlines plane missing for more than 24 hours may have turned back, Malaysian officials have said.

Rescue teams looking for the plane have now widened their search area.

Investigators are also checking CCTV footage of two passengers who are believed to have boarded the plane using stolen passports.

Flight MH370 from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing disappeared south of Vietnam with 239 people on board.

Air and sea rescue teams have been searching an area of the South China Sea south of Vietnam for more than 30 hours, but there have been no definite sightings of wreckage.

Late on Sunday, the Vietnamese authorities said a navy aircraft had spotted "an object" suspected of belonging to the missing plane, but officials said it was too dark to be certain.

The object is thought to be near a potential oil slick that was spotted on Saturday, but again officials have urged that this may be nothing to do with flight MH370.

Malaysia's civil aviation chief, Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, told a press conference in Kuala Lumpur that the search area had been expanded to include the west coast of Malaysia.

Five passengers booked on the flight did not board, he added. Their luggage was consequently removed.

There are now 40 ships and 34 aircraft from nine different nationalities taking part in the search. But no signal has been received from the plane's emergency locator transmitter, Malaysian aviation authorities say.

Air force chief Rodzali Daud said the investigation was now focusing on a recording of radar signals that showed there was a "possibility" the aircraft had turned back from its flight path.