An oil worker's claim that he saw a burning plane plunge into the seas near the last known location of the missing Malaysia Airlines jet is being probed by investigators, officials said Wednesday.
The email from Michael Jerome McKay said he was on the Songa Mercur rig in the South China Sea when he saw the plane came down. Providing detailed coordinates, he said the plane was in "one piece" when it came down.
Malaysia's ministry of transportation was aware of the email according to his spokesman and they are investigating the claims.
They will release any information immediately if McKay's claims are proven to be true, the spokesman added.
More than 27,000 square nautical miles of sea are being searched in an “unprecedented” 12-nation effort, officials said Wednesday, as the hunt for the missing jet entered its fifth day.