Lucky escape!

Five passengers had checked in to fly on the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 but they didn't board the plane.

They had, however, purchased tickets and checked baggage, reports the Star Online, quoting Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, head of Malaysia's Department of Civil Aviation.

Quoting him, it added, Malaysia Airlines had removed those passengers' baggage once it learned they had not boarded the plane, in keeping with standard procedure.

The Southeast Asian country’s online news portal, however, did not give any details of the five passengers.

The Malaysian jetliner has been missing since early hours on Saturday, with 239 people on board.

‘Militants linked’ to missing Malaysian plane

Malaysian plane yet to be found

Malaysian plane goes missing