5 Little-Known Places Made Famous by Flight 370

The search for missing Malaysia Air flight 370 now involves 26 countries and millions of nautical square miles.

Heres a look at the some places you may not be quite familiar with brought to light by the extensive search.

Diego Garcia

Located in the middle of the Indian Ocean, Diego Garcia is a British territory with a landing strip. The island is home to a US Navy base and houses 1,700 military personnel along with 1,500 civilian contractors.

The island has also been reported to have been used as a place to transport and detain alleged terrorists.

Alice Springs

To aid in the search for the missing jetliner, Malaysias Defense Minister Hishammuddin Hussein has reportedly asked for the United States to share satellite information from a "secret" satellite installation near Alice Springs in the heartland of Australia.

The installation is run by both the CIA and the U.S. National Security Agency.

The Maldives

An island comprised of 26 atolls, the Maldives are located about 250 miles southwest of India. Residents of the Dhaalu Atoll reportedly saw a plane resembling the missing plane in the early hours of March 8. The Maldives' defense minister has denied those claims.

The Maldives are better-known as a vacation destination for honeymooners and families looking for some sun and relaxation.

Kuala Lumpur

The capital of Malaysia is home to a population of nearly 1.6 million.

Flight 370 lost contact with air traffic controllers less than an hour after departing the the city at 12:41 a.m. destined for Beijing, China.

Butterworth

In the early morning hours of March 8, radar operators at Malaysias Butterworth air base failed to report a blip on their radar moving directly toward them from the east.

Military radar in Thailand also detected a radar blip moving toward Butterworth that same day, but Thai officials took ten days to report it.