Chinese man believed aboard MH370 has no departure record: Report

BEIJING: Mystery around the 154 Chinese passengers on board the missing Malaysian airliner deepened today with a Chinese man, believed to be among those on the flight, saying he did not board the jet, state media reported.

The Chinese police said one of the persons listed did not board the ill-fated Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on Friday.

The person, a resident of Fujian Province in east China, has no departure record and is still in Fujian, Chinese police said today.

The passport owner's name does not match the name provided by Malaysia Airlines, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

The owner said the passport has never been lost or stolen. The disclosure came after it emerged that two people boarded the missing flight with stolen European passports.

The Boeing 777-200 aircraft with passengers from 14 different countries abruptly disappeared between Malaysia's east coast and southern Vietnam, triggering an international search effort.

The plane had 227 passengers on board, including five Indians and one Indian-origin Canadian, and 12 crew members.

Rescuers were still hunting for the whereabouts of the twin-engine plane.