KUALA LUMPUR, March 9 -- Rescue operations in hunt for a missing Malaysian jet have continued overnight, but nothing was able to be located so far, a Malaysian civil aviation official said here Sunday morning.

Department of Civil Aviation Director General Azharuddin Abdul Rahman told a a press conference that they lost contact with the plane at 1:30 a.m. local time on Saturday.

Despite continued rescue efforts, nothing was able to be located in hunt for the missing plane carrying 239 people so far, he said.

The official added that they were investigating the report that a Italian man whose name is on the passenger list had lost his passport.