KUALA LUMPUR - The Vietnamese navy has confirmed that it has not located the wreckage of the missing Malaysian Airlines plane in its territorial waters, said Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak on Saturday, following earlier reports which quoted the Vietnamese navy as saying that the plane had crashed into the South China Sea.

Datuk Seri Najib said it remained "too early" to make any conclusion about the fate of the missing plane.

He added that the search operations in the area about midway between Malaysia and Vietnam's southern coast have been intensified.

At a press conference at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Mr Najib said he had spoken to Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and expressed condolences over the affected Chinese passengers. There were 153 Chinese nationals, including one child, on board the missing plane.

Mr Li has urged Malaysia to act quickly and vigorously in their rescue efforts.