DHAKA: The Vietnamese government said its search team has reported sighting of oil slicks that could be from the jet engines of the missing Malaysian Airlines plane, as several nations searched waters off Southeast Asia on Saturday after the jet carrying 239 passengers disappeared.

Search pilots spotted two possible oil slicks, each 10 to 15km in length and about 140km south of Tho Chu island off southern Vietnam, according to a statement on the Vietnamese government website.

An official of the Vietnam’s State Search and Rescue Commission has earlier said a filmy substance that appeared to be oil was spotted on water surface over a stretch of about 20 km, Xinhua reported, says The Straits Times.

The missing flight was en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, with 227 passengers and 12 crew members from 14 nations, Malaysian Airlines said.

BDST: 1934 HRS, MAR 08, 2014