KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Malaysia said Sunday (March 16th) the number of countries searching for a missing airliner increased to 24 from 14 as a full-scale criminal probe was launched, AFP reported.

Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said search parameters for the aircraft involve both a northern flight corridor stretching from Thailand to Kazakhstan and a southern corridor from Indonesia to the southern Indian Ocean.

Police said they searched the homes of both pilots and examined the captain's home flight simulator after it became increasingly clear the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 that vanished March 8th, was deliberately diverted.

Hishammuddin cautioned people against "jumping to conclusions" about the thrust of the investigation, which national police chief Khalid Abu Bakar stressed was covering all 239 passengers and crew.