Chinese vessel "Haixun 01" is searching for the lost Malaysian jet in waters near Christmas Island in the southern Indian Ocean on Friday.

The vessel was about 110 nautical miles west of the island at 9 a.m. Beijing time, and will sail southward to continue searching together with another vessel, "Nanhaijiu 101," a Xinhua reporter on board the ship said.

Haixun 01 dispatched a search helicopter on Friday morning and stepped up radar monitoring. Three warships are also racing to the southern Indian Ocean.

Chinese icebreaker "Xuelong," which is anchored at the Australian city of Perth, is set to head for the southern Indian Ocean on Friday.