The Malaysia Airlines plane that went missing over Vietnam may have disintegrated, officials say.

Crews have been searching by plane and boat for any sign of the missing Malaysia Airlines jetliner that went off the radar on Saturday. There were 239 people on board the flight. Flight MH370 went missing about an hour into its flight from Kuala Lumpur after is reached the cruising altitude of 35,000 feet. Search and rescue teams have been looking for the plane since, Reuters reports.

According to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam,  Vietnamese navy plane saw an object floating in the sea which may have been part of the Boeing 777-200ER, but the crew wasn't positive as it was dark.

"We sent two boats to where the navy plane reported seeing that object but the boats couldn't find it," Admiral Ngo Van Phat told Reuters early on Monday. "We are sending more planes there this morning."

There were no distress signals sent from the plane before it disappeared, leading experts to believe that a sudden major failure or explosion occurred on board. However according to Malaysia's air force chief, radar showed that the plane may have turned back before disappearing.

Interpol confirmed that at least two passengers boarded the plane with stolen passports, which is suspicious.

A senior investigator said that the plane may have broken up mid-flight since dozens of search vessels haven't been able to find any debris for two days.
"The fact that we are unable to find any debris so far appears to indicate that the aircraft is likely to have disintegrated at around 35,000 feet," the source told Reuters.

When asked about the possiblity of there being an explosion, the source said there is no evidence of foul play as of yet and there's a chance that the plane broke up due to mechanical issues. Yet the source said this case seems very similar to incidents in which there were explosions on board planes such as the Air India jetliner in 1985 that exploded over the Atlantic Ocean and the Lockerbie air disaster in 1998. Both planes were cruising at around 31,000 feet when bombs went off on board.