KUALA LUMPUR, March 12 — A Malaysian official stated today that Malaysia will expand its search for missing Malaysian Airlines plane MH370 to the Andaman Sea.

“Yes, above Sumatra is the Andaman Sea,” he told AFP, when asked to confirm whether assets were being deployed in the Andaman Sea.

“It’s a very big area to cover... We are not going to leave any chance. We have to look at every possibility.”

Sumatra is a large Indonesian island south of the Andaman Sea.

The body of water is off Thailand’s west coast.

Authorities have expanded the search after earlier citing radar data they said indicates a “possibility” the plane may have changed course from its intended flight path over the South China Sea.

Officials have yet to provide any further clarification on the radar data they referred to.

Authorities have been searching since Saturday in the South China Sea between Malaysia and Vietnam.

The effort has found no trace of the plane, sparking one of the greatest aviation mysteries in memory. — AFP