Malaysia pledged Tuesday to do "whatever it takes" to find the debris of missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370.

"As the search for MH370 continues, we remain focused on narrowing the search area," acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said at a press conference.

Satellite contact was lost sometime between 0011 GMT and 0115 GMT on March 8, and "there is evidence of a partial handshake" at 0019 GMT, which at this time "is not understood and is subject to further ongoing work," he added.

As there is no land near MH370's last known location in the southern Indian Ocean and the plane would have been very low on fuel by then, chances of survival are extremely slim, said the minister.

Based on satellite data analysis, search operations in the northern corridor have been called off, and the mission will focus on the southern part of the southern corridor, he added.

Meanwhile, a high-level Malaysian delegation is leaving for Beijing later Tuesday, he said.