Malaysian Airlines' Passengers With Stolen Passports 'Looked Like Balotelli' Official Says

Suspect Passengers 'Looked Like Balotelli' Aviation Chief Says
In this photo released by Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, Director General of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency Admiral Mohd Amdan Kurish, left, checks a radar during a searching for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane off Tok Bali Beach in Kelantan, Malaysia, Sunday, March 9, 2014. Military radar indicates that the missing Boeing 777 jet may have turned back, Malaysia?s air force chief said Sunday as scores of ships and aircraft from across Asia resumed a hunt for the plane and i
In this photo released by Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, Director General of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency Admiral Mohd Amdan Kurish, left, checks a radar during a searching for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane off Tok Bali Beach in Kelantan, Malaysia, Sunday, March 9, 2014. Military radar indicates that the missing Boeing 777 jet may have turned back, Malaysia?s air force chief said Sunday as scores of ships and aircraft from across Asia resumed a hunt for the plane and i
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Two passengers who boarded missing Malaysia Airlines flights MH370 were not "Asian-looking" but resembled footballer Mario Balotelli, the country's civil aviation chief has told a news conference.

Azharuddin Abdul Rahman told journalists in Kuala Lumpur that CCTV footage revealed what the two suspect passengers looked like, before referring to the Italian footballer.

The comment prompted laughter at the news conference, but has sparked anger on social media.

According to The Guardian, a reporter had asked Rahman to say “roughly” what the two men looked like.

He replied “Do you know a footballer by the name of Balotelli?".

Malaysia's civil aviation chief said the pair 'looked like Balotelli'

Sri Khalid Abu Bakar, the Inspector General of Police Tan, added that one man had been identified through CCTV footage.

"I can confirm that he is not a Malaysian, but cannot divulge which country he is from yet," he said, according to Malaysia's The Star.

He added that the man was not from China and there was no verification of a Chinese militant group claiming responsibility for the missing plane.

According to the airline, the five never boarded the flight, but their baggage was removed.

Sightings of debris from a Vietnamese plane has now been discounted as evidence of a crash, as has an oil slick, which tests have shown was a type used by ships in the cargo-heavy sea.

The two men using the stolen passports are said to have booked flights onward to Europe, which means they did not need Chinese visas and avoided the additional scrutiny that comes from visa application, ABC news reported.

A European diplomat in Kuala Lumpur told the channel that the city was a hub for illegal migrants.

"You shouldn't automatically think that the fact there were two people on the plane with false passports had anything to do with the disappearance of the plane," the diplomat said.

"The more you know about the role of Kuala Lumpur in this chain, the more doubtful you are of the chances of a linkage."

Fears are growing the plane may never be found, as authorities said they had intensified the search, involving 46 ships and 34 planes from nine countries.

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