Hishammuddin confirmed that Vietnamese searchers have reported spotting what looks like an “inverted life craft”, and that vessels have been deployed to identify the objects. There are no updates on lab analysis of the oil slicks found on the South China Sea, he adds.

China has sent a delegation to Kuala Lumpur to assist Malaysia in three aspects: search and rescue, identifying the two passengers who boarded using fake passports, and also dealing with families of those on board MH370. Chinese presence in the investigation however does not mean that those traveled with the fake passports were Chinese citizens, says Hishammuddin.

The details of the two passengers, including their background and biometric data have also been given to international intelligence agencies and their pictures could soon be released to the public.

Asked about the five passengers who checked-in but did not board MH370, Hishammuddin says investigations are ongoing but that he could not disclose further information. Pressed on why the stolen passports were not checked against the Interpol list, he rebutted that there are over 40 million names on the list.

The MAS 777, registered 9M-MRO, was on the Kuala Lumpur-Beijing route, when it lost contact with the Subang Air Traffic Control at around 01:30 local time on 8 March. Its last reported position was over an area between Malaysia and Vietnam.