Search for missing Malaysian jet expands from Australia to Kazakhstan

KualaLumpur Malaysia The case of the missing Malaysian jet is turning more and more mysterious with each passing day with the serach on Monday expanding to both the northern and southern hemispheres with Australia taking the lead in scouring the seas of the southern Indian Ocean and Kazakhstan about 10000 miles to the northwest answering Malaysias call for help in the unprecedented huntA detailed map of the northern and southern corridors where the search operations were on was released on MondayMalaysia got in touch with countries along the northern and southern corridors about the flight These countries include Kazakhstan Uzbekistan Kyrgyzstan Turkmenistan Pakistan Bangladesh India China Myanmar Laos Vietnam Thailand Indonesia Australia and FranceCambodian residents of a community light candles as they pray for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 at their village in Phnom Penh on Monday An investigation into the pilots of missing Malaysia Airlines flight 370 intensified on March 17 after officials confirmed that the last words spoken from the cockpit came after a key signalling system was manually disabled PicAFPAustralia was leading the search of the remote southern Indian Ocean for the missing plane Kazakhstan joined the search today in the farthest northwest section of the search area taking the total number of countries involved in the operation to 26Australias initiative in heading the search operations in the southern vector was announced by Prime Minister Tony Abbott who referred to the disappearance of the plane as an unfathomed mysteryAbbott said he has not received any information about whether the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 with 239 people on board may have travelled south towards AustraliaWith investigators searching for the plane two possible corridors for search operations have been identified after it emerged its transponders were deliberately turned off and satellite data showed it flew for almost seven hours after veering off course in the Gulf of ThailandMalaysian Prime Minister Najib last week said authorities are trying to trace the plane across two possible corridors in the north to the border of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan and a southern corridor from Indonesia to the southern Indian OceanAbbott said he had recently spoken with Najib He asked that Australia take responsibility for the search in the southern vector which the Malaysian authorities now think was one possible flight path for this illfated aircraft Abbott was quoted saying by Sky NewsMalaysian government has also accepted an offer of using additional Australian maritime surveillance resourcesThe countries defence chiefs have also been in contact to determine Australias role Abbott said Australia will do its duty in this matterto ensure that our search and rescue responsibilities are maintained and upheld he saidAbbott said Australia will work with assets from a number of other countries including surveillance aircraft from New Zealand and the USThe Australian Maritime Safety Authority will take the lead in coordinating the search in the southern Indian Ocean supported by the Australian Defence Force and other contributing agencies media reports saidMeanwhile rubbishing US media reports suggesting the missing plane was taken to Pakistan Islamabad on Sunday said its radar network had no information about the aircraft but the country was ready to share any information if it is available Xinhua reportedThe comments came from the Pakistani foreign ministry after Malaysian government asked 26 countries including Pakistan for assistance as the search for the missing jetliner continued SundayNo information about the Malaysian plane is available at our radar as it has not entered our air space the ministrys spokesperson Tasnim Aslam told media in response to Malaysian governments request Our radar system has no information about the Malaysian aircraft as it has never contacted our control towerThe Pakistani spokesperson also dismissed US media reports that the missing aircraft might have been taken to PakistanThey the US media are losing their credibility by publishing such stories she said adding that Malaysian authorities have not only sought Pakistans help but also more than 20 countries