SEPANG, March 10 — Malaysia’s aviation regulators today confessed that they were baffled by the case of the missing Malaysia Airlines (MAS) MH370 that is now missing for a third day.

Speaking during a daily press conference today on the status of the Beijing-bound plane carrying 239 passengers, the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) said it was not discounting any possibilities in what it described as the unprecedented “missing aircraft mystery”.

“We are equally puzzled,” DCA director-general Datuk Azharuddin Abdul Rahman said today.

Azharuddin said at the press conference that they are stepping up search and rescue efforts, having already expanded their search to the Straits of Malacca, aside from continuing to comb a 50 nautical mile radius centred on the last point of contact with the missing Boeing 777-200.

He also clarified that there is still no confirmation of any debris found, referring to a report last night out of Vietnam claiming that the inside of a door from the plane was found in their waters.

“We called them (Vietnamese authorities) last night, and they confirmed that the report has not been verified.

“There was also the report that two planes had spotted what looked like the tail of the aircraft, but when we dispatched our ships to the area identified it turned out to be logs that were tied up, like a pontoon,” Azharuddin said.

Acknowledging the mounting speculation of possible terrorism following reports that two passengers were able to board the flight using stolen passports, it said that such a cause was included in ongoing investigations.

But it added that there must be “concrete evidence” before any conclusion of foul play could be drawn.

It said that at the moment, the focus remains on locating the aircraft that has now gone more than 50 hours since it last had any contact with air traffic controllers.

“I hope you will be patient. Our boys on the search and rescue operation are trying their best now... there is no time frame (for the operation),” Azharuddin said.

Another press conference is expected later today, though the authorities have yet to set the time.

Azharuddin insisted that Malaysian authorities acted correctly in handling the crisis, amid growing criticism that local response to the incident was not fast enough.

Flight MH370 has now been missing for more than two days since it lost contact after departing Kuala Lumpur International Airport for Beijing, China on March 8.

There were 239 people on board, including 12 crew members.