India suspends Malaysia plane search

Indian navy and air search operations for the missing Malaysian jetliner have been suspended until fresh search areas are identified by Malaysia's government.

Colonel Harmit Singh, spokesman for India's tri-services command, said on Sunday coast guard ships had reverted to routine surveillance in the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal.

"Air and sea operations for today have been put on hold," he said.

There was no indication as of Sunday evening when the search efforts would resume.

A government official said earlier in the day Indian and Malaysian officials were scheduled to meet in Kuala Lumpur to refine search co-ordinates.

The plane, which was carrying 239 people, disappeared March 8 on its way to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur.

The Indian navy and air force's co-ordinated search for the last three days has involved a dozen ships and aircraft and covered more than 250,000 square kilometres in the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal without sighting the Boeing 777.

"So far no sighting or detection has been reported by the units deployed for searches in various designated areas," India's Defense Ministry said in a statement.

"The Malaysian authorities have now indicated that based on investigation, the search operations have entered a new phase and a strategy for further searches is being formulated.

"Accordingly, search operations have been suspended and all Indian assets earmarked for search operations have been placed on standby."