India puts search for missing Malaysian plane on hold

India has put on hold its search operations for the missing Malaysian airliner as it is awaiting fresh instructions from Malaysian authorities who are likely to look into new areas for locating the plane.

The search operations involving five warships and six surveillance aircraft have been put on hold and "we are awaiting fresh instructions from Malaysia," Andaman and Nicobar Command spokesperson Colonel Harmit Singh said.

The aircraft of the force have not flown since Sunday morning including the P-8I maritime surveillance aircraft and the C-130J Super Hercules special operations aircraft of the IAF, navy officials said.

The Coast Guard and the Navy have deployed six warships, including the ICGS Kanaklata Baruah and Bhikaji Cama, along with the ICGS Sagar which will conduct searches in the Malacca Straits. The Navy has deployed its INS Saryu and INS Kesari for the operations.

India was carrying out searches in the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal in area roughly around 2.5 lakh km.

Malaysia on Saturday said the movement of the missing Flight MH370 with 239 people on board was "consistent with deliberate action by someone on plane".

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak had said that authorities are now trying to trace the plane across two possible corridors -- in the north to the border of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, and a southern corridor from Indonesia to the southern Indian Ocean.