Malaysia Airlines has clarified that a cell phone number which allegedly belonged to a family member of a passenger on Flight MH370 is an American number, not from China.

MAS subsidiary Firefly’s chief executive officer Ignatious Ong Ming Choy said in Beijing today the number was identified to be an American mobile phone number by a telecommunication company authorised by MAS.

Earlier, a family member of the affected passenger claimed that he had received a diverted call from a number after the flight went missing, and urged MAS to investigate the source of the number in order to track down the whereabouts of the missing Boeing 777-200.

He then handed the number to Ong for further investigation during a briefing earlier.

Much speculation about Flight MH370 is circulating on the Internet and some of these have ignited hope for the affected passengers' families.

MAS Flight MH370, carrying 227 passengers, including two infants, and 12 crew, went missing en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing about an hour after taking off from the KL International Airport at 12.41am on March 8.

It should have landed in Beijing at 6.30 am on the same day.

- Bernama