Zaharie and co-pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid, 27, were among the 12 crew members of the Malaysia Airlines plane with 227 passengers on board including five Indians and one Indian-Canadian, as the search for the aircraft entered ninth day.
The plane left Kuala Lumpur for Beijing at 12:41 am on March 8 and lost contact with radar an hour after take off.
“Police are investigating all crew and passengers on board MH370, as well as engineers who may have had contact with the aircraft before take-off,” the statement said.
“Malaysian officials are also asking countries to provide further assistance in the search for the aircraft, including: satellite data and analysis; ground-search capabilities; radar data; and maritime and air assets,” it said.
Malaysia was contacting countries along the northern and southern corridors about the flight.
