China says its aircraft not conducting overland searches for missing Malaysian plane

BEIJING: China's foreign ministry said on Wednesday that its aircraft are not conducting searches over land for a missing Malaysia Airlines jetliner but that it was expanding searches at sea.

Ministry spokesman Qin Gang made the statement at a regular press briefing. Earlier in the day the chief of China's civil aviation authority said that searches would be broadened to include land areas.

In one of the most baffling mysteries in recent aviation history, a massive search operation has so far found no trace of the aircraft days after it disappeared carrying 239 passengers and crew.