Malaysian officials are looking into the possibility that missing MAS airliner, codename MH370, could have disintegrated mid-flight, according to Reuters.
 
The newswire, quoting a source involved in the investigations, said that this possibility is being considered because no trace of the plane can be confirmed almost 48 hours after the plane went missing.
 
"The fact that we are unable to find any debris so far appears to indicate that the aircraft is likely to have disintegrated at around 35,000 feet," the source was reported as saying.
 
The source said that had the plane plunged from such an altitude and crashed into the sea, search teams would have found a fairly concentrated pattern of debris.
 
When asked about the likelihood that the plane fell victim to an explosion, the source said that there were no evidence of foul play at this point, and that the aircraft could have broken up due to mechanical issues.

An international search and rescue operation is currently underway to look for MH370, which stopped radio contact with air traffic controllers at about 1.30am on Saturday morning.
 
The plane, a Boeing 777-200ER was bound for Beijing from KLIA. The circumstances surrounding its disappearance is a complete mystery as there was no known distress call.
 
Thus far, Vietnamese authories - which presume the craft to have crashed near the country's southern tip - have spotted several objects which might be related to the plane, but there has been no concrete links being drawn.
 
On Malaysian waters, several oil slicks has been discovered but it is unsure if it was indeed jet fuel from MH370.