Search for jet widens

KUALA LUMPUR — Dozens of ships and aircraft from multiple nations scoured an expanded swathe of Southeast Asia Tuesday for any sign of a Malaysian jet that vanished with 239 people on board, as frustration mounted over the baffling disappearance.

Authorities had announced late Monday they were doubling the search radius to 100 nautical miles ( equivalent to 185 kilometres) around the point where Malaysia Airlines MH370 disappeared from radar over the South China Sea early Saturday, en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

China, which had 153 of its nationals on board the plane, said it would harness 10 satellites equipped with high-resolution imaging to help, as Boeing said it was joining a US government team to figure out what happened to its 777-200 plane.

The vast stretch under consideration reflects authorities’ puzzlement over the disappearance of the aircraft, with 40 ships and more than 30 planes finding no sign of it on the fourth day of searching.

Malaysian authorities and airline officials have come under fire from China for their inability to provide any indication of what happened, and for a string of contradictory statements.

But a Malaysia Airlines (MAS) statement stressed: “We are as anxious as the families to know the status of their loved ones.”