China urges Malaysia to intensify search

China has urged Malaysia to "step up its efforts" in the search for the Malaysia Airlines passenger plane that disappeared on Saturday. A massive search and rescue operation involving nine countries has found no trace of the plane or the 239 people on board - most of whom were Chinese. The authorities are further expanding the search areas in the Malacca Strait and the South China Sea. Flight MH370 vanished from radar en route to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur. Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang had earlier urged the Malaysian authorities sharpen its search efforts. "We have a responsibility to demand and urge the Malaysian side to step up search efforts, start an investigation as soon as possible and provide relevant information to China correctly and in a timely manner," he said. The Malaysian authorities are attempting to address Chinese concerns - they have reissued a pledge to fly worried family members to Kuala Lumpur so they can be closer to the search efforts, according to BBC.