MH370 Passengers with Stolen Passports Identified as Iranians - East Idaho News
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MH370 Passengers with Stolen Passports Identified as Iranians

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GETTY 31114 StolenPassports?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1394542777246How Foo Yeen/Getty Images(KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia) — The two men who boarded Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 with stolen passports have been identified as Iranians, authorities said on Tuesday.

Malaysian police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said the first man, named Pouria Nour Mohammad Mehrdad, 19, was likely trying to enter Germany to seek asylum. His mother contacted authorities after he didn’t arrive in Frankfurt.

Interpol later identified the other man as Delavar Syed Mohammad Reza, 29.

The investigation into the disappearance of the Boeing 777 jet with 239 people on board has centered so far around these two passengers. The plane, which left Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Saturday, was headed for Beijing.

Authorities have not ruled anything out. Malaysian police said they are looking into four possibilities: hijacking, sabotage, psychological problems of the passenger and crew, and personal problems among the passengers and crew.

In a statement Tuesday, Malaysia Airlines said “search and rescue teams have expanded the scope beyond the flight path. The focus now is on the West Peninsular of Malaysia at the Straits of Malacca.”

The carrier added that authorities are also looking into the possibility that Flight MH370 attempted to turn back toward Malaysia.

“All angles are being looked at. We are not ruling out any possibilities,” the airline said.

Potential clues discovered so far during the search have failed to bring authorities closer to the missing plane. Samples from an oil slick — as well as an orange object spotted floating in the ocean — had nothing to do with the plane wreckage, authorities said.

Copyright 2014 ABC News Radio

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