Malaysia says no red flags ‘so far’ on missing jet passengers

A Malaysian military soldier patrols the viewing gallery of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport where dedication boards with well wishes and messages for people involved with the missing Malaysia Airlines jetliner MH370 is displayed, Sunday, March 16, 2014 in Sepang, Malaysia. AP

KUALA LUMPUR— Background checks on all but three of the 239 passengers and crew on board a missing Malaysia Airlines jet have produced no “information of significance”, Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said Wednesday.

“We have received passengers’ background checks from all countries apart from Ukraine and Russia,” Hishammuddin told reporters at a daily briefing.

“So far no information of significance on any passengers has been found.” he said.

There were two Ukrainians and one Russian on the plane.

The Malaysian government believes the jet was deliberately diverted and flew for several hours after leaving its scheduled flight path—either north towards Central Asia, or towards the southern Indian Ocean.

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