Russian intelligence sources have claimed that all passengers and crew members aboard the missing Malaysian Flight MH370 are alive and the plane was, in fact, hijacked and flown to Afghanistan. (Also Read: MH370's Co-pilot Made Mid-Flight Call from Mobile Phone)
A source in Russian's FSB secret service has reportedly said that the plane was hijacked and flown close to the Afghan-Pakistan border and all people aboard the plane are currently being held hostage.
The intelligence source provided the data to a correspondent of a Russian newspaper, Moskovsky Komsomolets.
"Flight MH370 malaysia Airlines missing on 8 March with 239 passengers was hijacked. Pilots are not guilty; the plane was hijacked by unknown terrorists. We know that the name of the terrorist who gave instructions to pilots is "Hitch." The plane is in Afghanistan not far from Kandahar near the border with Pakistan," the source was quoted as saying.
The Russian newspaper has said that the passengers have been divided into seven groups and are living in mud huts with almost no food, according to Daily Star.
The report said that 20 passengers who were Asian have been smuggled into a bunker in Pakistan. It is also claimed that the terrorists are possibly seeking to bargain with either America or China.
The news, however, has not been confirmed by authorities either in Malaysia or China and must be taken with caution as there are no credible evidence to prove that this is what has happened. Also, the news cannot be independently verified due to the anonymity of the source to the Russian newspaper.
(Read: MH370 Co-pilot Tried to Make Phone Call on The Day Plane Vanished)
A massive search team, currently coordinated by Australia, is searching for the wreckage for more than a month and recent pings possibly emitted by the black box have been considered the best lead so far.
Angus Houston, the head of a joint agency has said that they were confident that the signals heard were from the missing plane.
"I'm now optimistic that we will find the aircraft, or what is left of the aircraft, in the not-too-distant future -but we haven't found it yet, because this is a very challenging business," Houston said on Thursday.
