Malaysia Airlines crash: Navy ships and helicopters search for missing flight MH370

Scouring the seas around Malaysia and south of Vietnam for anything to provide clues to the whereabouts of a jetliner. The search and rescue effort is big, the area hundreds of miles wide. More than 20 aircraft and 40 ships from at least 10 countries are involved, but nothing as yet.

There were hopes of a breakthrough on day three of the search. This wasn’t a life raft, but a moss-covered cap of a cable reel. An oil slick off the Kelantan coast also not from the missing plane.

The disappearance of the Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 remains a mystery. And the theories remain those for now. A hijacking and bomb attack are not being ruled out. Interpol says two stolen passports were used on the flight, and even though the jetliner has a strong safety record, investigators are not ruling out the possibility of a mechanical problem and subsequent explosion, leaving debris sprawled over a wide area.

However, American spy satellites have failed to provide evidence of a mid-air explosion.

Officials say they are widening their sea search because as time goes by, it becomes even more important to find something of the missing plane.

Difficult words: scour (to search carefully), breakthrough (point of a big change), moss (small green plant which grows on wet things), reel (wheel for a cable), subsequent (happening after something else), debris (small parts of something broken), sprawl (spread).