FBI checking thumbprints of impostor passengers on missing flight

WASHINGTON -- The FBI is analyzing thumbprints of two men who used false passports to board the Malaysia Airlines plane that disappeared en route to Beijing, US media reported on Monday.

The FBI is running the thumbprints through its database in hopes of identifying the men, a US law enforcement official told CNN, which added that Malaysian authorities had shared the pictures and thumbprints of the two men with their counterparts in the United States and around the world.

Operating as Flight MH370, the Boeing 777--200ER aircraft carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew members vanished shortly after takeoff Saturday morning. Interpol on Sunday confirmed that at least two passports -- an Austrian and an Italian one -- recorded in its Stolen and Lost Travel Documents database were used by passengers on board.

While there has been rampant speculation about the possible role of terrorism in the missing plane, US authorities said so far there is no evidence to indicate it is the case, US broadcaster ABC said in a report.

"The US is not picking up any intel, no chatter," ABC quoted a counter-terrorism official as saying. The official was referring to communications often intercepted by US intelligence authorities in the wake of a terrorist attack that could lead to clues about suspects.