Bangladesh has begun search operations to trace the missing Malaysian aeroplane by deploying frigates and aircraft.

In line with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's directive, two patrol aircraft and two navy frigates - BNS Omar Farooq and BNS Bangabandhu - have joined the search, primarily to look for the aircraft in the Bay of Bengal and its adjoining areas.

A press release circulated by ISPR (Inter-services public relations) office said this on Saturday.

Bangladesh decided to join the search for missing flight MH370 with several countries in view of emerging possibilities that the plane could be tracked down in the adjacent areas of Bay of Bengal, a route from the Indian Ocean towards Andaman.

Several countries have been on the search for the plane that give rise to various speculations regarding whereabouts, including the one that says the plane might have taken.

The Beijing-bound Boeing 777-200 mysteriously disappeared from radar screens an hour after taking off from Kuala Lumpur on March 8 with 239 passengers on board.

There has been neither trace of the plane nor any sign of wreckage despite a search by the navies and military aircraft of 14 countries, involving 43 ships and 58 aircraft.