UK newspaper says MH370 crashed in 'suicide mission'

The missing Malaysian Airline passenger jet, which crashed into the southern Indian Ocean, was reportedly a deliberate act in an apparent 'suicide mission,' a UK newspaper has said.

The Daily Telegraph, in its report said that according to its 'well-placed sources,' the plane was crashed in a suicidal mission.

However, the paper's claims contradict the statements made by Malaysian authorities who said that the focus of the investigation is moving away from the pilots, Sydney Morning Herald reports.

Although the 'pilot suicide' theory has long been doing the rounds in media reports, investigators are now looking at the possibility of a mechanical failure, explosion or fire on board.

The newspaper's report has revealed that the team investigating the plane's disappearance believed that no malfunction or fire was capable of causing the Boeing 777's unusual flight path after taking off from Kuala Lumpur on March 8, or the disabling of its communications systems.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak had also stressed in his earlier press statement that it was a deliberate act by someone on board with expertise to turn off the communication systems of Flight MH370.

However, background checks on the pilots, crew and passengers have failed to reveal any links to extremist organisations.

The report added officials saying that it was likely the plane ran out of fuel before crashing.

Meanwhile, as Australian authorities aim to suspend their search efforts, investigators are now focusing on locating and retrieving the black box, which remains the only way exact reason for the crash, suicidal or accidental, could be deciphered.