PARIS, March 16 -- France's Bureau of Investigation and Analysis (BEA) said three of its staff members are flying Sunday to Kuala Lumpur to participate in the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.

In a statement, the BEA on Sunday said its technical assistance has been requested by the Malaysian authorities in the search for the Boeing passenger jet, which, with 239 people on board, vanished en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8.

The agency said its experts will join the NTSB and the AAIB, or their American and British counterparts and will start helping Malaysian authorities from Monday morning to examine and analyze available data and assist in the organization of the search.

Malaysia's Defense and Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said at a press conference Sunday in Kuala Lumpur that the number of countries involved in the search and rescue operation has increased from 14 to 25.