Report claims missing Malaysia jet's passengers' phones ring but go unanswered

The mystery over the missing Malaysian aircraft with 239 people on board continued for the third day on Monday even as the multinational search operations to look for the wreckage widened to cover the Andaman Sea near Thailand's border.

The mystery over the missing Malaysian aircraft with 239 people on board continued for the third day on Monday even as the multinational search operations to look for the wreckage widened to cover the Andaman Sea near Thailand's border.

"Unfortunately, we have not found anything that appears to be objects from the aircraft, let alone the aircraft itself," Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, head of Malaysia's Department of Civil Aviation (DCA), said at a news conference.

However, the mystery has deepened after Chinese media reported that several of the passengers' mobile phones were connecting when called by relatives, but the calls were not picked up.

The sister of one of the Chinese passengers on board the vanished flight rang his phone live on TV, theMirrorreports.

"This morning, around 11:40 (am), I called my older brother's number twice, and I got the ringing tone," said Bian Liangwei, sister of one of the passengers.

"If I could get through, the police could locate the position, and there's a chance he could still be alive," she said. She has passed on the number to Malaysia Airlines and the Chinese police, according to reports.

The Washington Post called the claims of ringing phones "eerie rumors".

HT couldn't confirm this report independently.