Vietnam confirms Malaysian Airlines jet has crashed

Vietnamese search officials say a Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 with 239 people on board, missing for ten hours, crashed 250 kilometres off the Vietnamese coast.

That confirmation, just minutes ago, has been denied by Malaysian Airlines and there’s no word yet on what data the Vietnamese naval admiral who’s confirmed a “crash” is relying on.

What is worrying investigators is that the plane disappeared at a height of 35,000 feet without sending out any distress signal, suggesting a catastrophic break-up of the plane in flight.

Two New Zealanders are among those on board the jet, which was flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.