DHAKA: The international search for a missing Malaysian airliner has been expanded into the Andaman Sea, hundreds of kilometers to the northwest of the original search radius.

An official said on Wednesday, reports The Straits Times.

‘Yes, above Sumatra is the Andaman Sea,’ Malaysian civil aviation chief Azharuddin Abdul Rahman said when asked to confirm whether ships and planes were searching for missing flight MH370 there.

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

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

BDST: 1414 HRS, MAR 12, 2014