BEIJING — Two passengers on the flight manifest for the Malaysian jetliner that vanished with 239 on board weren't on board the plane, foreign ministry officials in Italy and Austria said Saturday. Italian news agency ANSA reported that the Italian citizen whose name is on the passenger manifest, Louis Maraldi, 37, from Cesena, was not aboard the plane and had phoned his parents to say that he is well. He had reported his passport stolen Aug. 1 in Thailand. The Italian Foreign Ministry has confirmed that the Italian was not on board the aircraft.
At the same time, Austrian Foreign Ministry spokesman Martin Weiss told the AP that a name listed on the manifest matches an Austrian passport reported stolen two years ago in Thailand.
I wonder what the stories are about how the passports became stolen.