Italian police confirms passenger on Malaysian plane list had passport stolen

Italian passenger Luigi Maraldi, who was thought to be on the missing Malaysian Airlines aircraft, had his passport stolen in Thailand last August, local investigators announced Saturday.

The 37-year-old Italian man's name was on the boarding list offered by Malaysia Airlines which reported that its Beijing-bound plane carrying 239 people had lost contact with air traffic control about two hours after leaving Malaysia's capital of Kuala Lumpur early Saturday.

Italy's Foreign Ministry confirmed on Saturday that Maraldi was not on board of the missing plane.

Maraldi phoned to his father Walter, a resident in the Italian city of Cesena in early Saturday morning, telling him that he was not on the missing plane but safely in Thailand.

"He phoned me before the news was reported in Italy. When Italian media said the Malaysian Airlines aircraft was missing, I already knew everything," Walter said in an interview.

Walter also confirmed that his son's passport had been stolen around one year ago. "It is possible that someone used my son's information. However, we had reported the theft to police, who are now investigating," he said.

According to Italian media, the Italian young man had reported the theft both to police in Thailand and then in Italy.

The flight MH370, a Boeing 777-200, was carrying 12 crew members and 227 passengers onboard, including 154 Chinese, when it lost contact with Subang Air Traffic Control.

Multinational rescue teams intensified search for the missing plane.

Vietnamese Deputy Transport Minister Pham Quy Tieu said rescuers were expected to arrive in waters near the southern Phu Quoc Island where two "suspicious" oil slicks were spotted.

Malaysian Transport Minister Hishamuddin Hussein said no sign of any plane wreckage had been found.