PHNOM PENH, March 10 (Xinhua) -- Cambodia would further tighten security on passengers' identities following the disappearance of a Malaysia Airlines plane with two passengers boarding with stolen passports, a senior official at the Security and Safety Department at the Civil Aviation said Monday.
"In fact, our security at all airports is very strict already. Our immigration police have checked passports very carefully, it is impossible for passengers to board a plane on stolen passports," he told Xinhua and asked not to be named because he was not in the position to speak with the press.
The Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 with 227 passengers and 12 crew members on board went missing on its way from Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur to China's Beijing early Saturday, the carrier said, adding that it lost communication and radar signal two hours into the flight over south Vietnam at 1:20 a.m. local time.
According to the airlines, a total of 154 Chinese nationals were onboard the plane.
Two passengers were found to have used stolen passports, raising concerns about the possibilities of terrorist attack.
An international search and rescue effort has already been launched to locate the missing plane, but no solid clues have been found yet.
Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, director general of the Malaysian Department of Civil Aviation, said so far, 34 aircraft and 40 ships from different countries including China, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the United States, Thailand, Australia, the Philippines etc. are participating in the search and rescue over the suspected location of the missing plane.
Vice Admiral Tea Sokha, commander of the Cambodian Maritime Space, said Monday that Cambodia had not sent any ships or rescuers to assist the search operation since the suspected location of the missing plane was very far from Cambodia.
"It is very far from Cambodian territory and our ships are small and our capacity is limited, so we cannot help the search and rescue efforts," he told Xinhua. "However, we are deeply concerned over the safety of the passengers on board the missing plane."