Malaysian police have just now confirmed the identity of one of the two men who boarded the missing Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 using stolen European passports, revealing that one of the key persons of interest in the investigation thus far is nineteen-year-old Iranian asylum seeker Pouria Nour Mohammad Mehrdad, who is also “likely” not a terrorist and who was reportedly trying to get home to his mother, who was waiting for him in Frankfurt.
In a press conference helpfully live-tweeted by Malaysian Airport staff, police chief Khalid Abu Bakar asserted that “[Mehrdad] is not likely to be a member of any terror group” and that both men travelling on stolen documents arrived in the country on February 28th. The identity of the other man is still being investigated along with the background of everyone else on board Flight 370 which, ICYMI, disappeared on Saturday morning carrying 239 passengers, including six Australians. An international search for the plane in the waters off South-East Asia has been ongoing in the interim, yielding little more than theories.
Early revelations that two passengers were using stolen passports fuelled speculation of terrorism and the launch of an international terror probe, however authorities maintain that “investigation angles on hijacking, sabotage, personal problem amongst passengers and psychological issues” are all being “given [the] same weight until investigators find something concrete.”
via SBS
Photo: Manan Vatsyayana via Getty
