Malaysian Transport Minister has said Chinese satellite images that were said to show debris from a missing Malaysian airline were released by mistake.

Hishammuddin Hussein also denied a US report that Boeing 777 might have flown for hours after contact with air traffic control was lost.

Flight MH370 from Kuala Lumpur to Boeijing went missing  late on Friday, with 239 passengers and crew on board.

The Minister said the disappearance of the plane was unprecedented.

Mr  Hussein told the reporters at Kuala Lumpur International Airport that the Chinese embassy in the Malaysian Capital had said the satellite images were released by mistake and “did not show any debris from MH 370”

The grainy satellite images were released by China’s State Administration of Science on Wednesday.

Mr Hussein also denied a report in the wall street Journal that the plane had sent engine data to the ground for more than four hours after it lost contact with air traffic control.