The search for the Malaysia Airlines aircraft missing since Saturday is shifting focus to the Indian Ocean region, according to US officials.
White House spokesman Jay Carney was reported as saying that fresh lines of investigation were the reason why the scope had widened.
The Boeing 777 disappeared early on Saturday with 239 people on board but a massive search effort has found no clues as to what happened to the aircraft.
Carney told reporters that “because of new information, we may be part of an effort to open a new search area in the Indian Ocean,” and that the US was consulting with the Malaysian government on what resources might be deployed.
However, officials told the BBC the intelligence was “not concrete enough to merit a rise in expectations”.
The US Navy also announced it is moving destroyer USS Kidd from its search position in the Gulf of Thailand to the west coast of Malaysia.
Malaysia’s acting transport minister Hishammuddin Hussein rejected the Wall Street Journal’s claims about engine data transmission for hours after the aircraft disappeared, saying that both engine makers Rolls-Royce and MAS said they were “inaccurate”.
He also said that Chinese satellite pictures of debris in the South China Sea were not connected to Flight MH370’s disappearance.
The latest statement from the airline said today: “Malaysia Airlines is fully aware of the ongoing media speculations and we have nothing further to add to the information we have already provided.
“Our primary focus at this point in time is to care for the families of the passengers and crew of MH370. This means providing them with timely information, travel facilities, accommodation, meals, medical and emotional support.”