Malaysia minister says search for flight MH370 at 'critical juncture'

Malaysia's transport minister has reportedly said that the search for missing Malaysia Airline flight MH370 is at a very critical juncture.

Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said that the search for today and tomorrow is at a very critical juncture and appealed to people around the globe to pray hard that the search team found something to work on.

Hishammuddin added that Malaysia was already in discussions with private companies on the possible use of more deep-sea vessels if the mini-submarine currently searching the ocean floor fails to make a breakthrough, News 24 reported.

The missing flight, carrying 239 people onboard disappeared on 8 March and is believed to have crashed in the Indian Ocean.

While the search of the ill-fated flight is still on, Australia's Prime Minister Tony Abbott on Thursday set a one-week deadline to locate the plane using the Australian naval vessel, the report added.