New satellite images have revealed 122
objects in the southern Indian Ocean that could be debris from the
Malaysian jetliner missing since March 8 with 239 people on board,
Malaysia's acting transport minister said.
The find has dramatically narrowed the search zone, with the debris spotted across an area measuring just 155 square miles (400 square kilometres).
In the past few days the search area has measured around 622,000 square miles - six times the size of the UK.
Flight MH370 vanished from civilian radar screens less than an hour after taking off from Kuala Lumpur bound for Beijing, and investigators believe someone on the flight may have shut off the plane's communications systems.
Partial military radar tracking showed it turning west and recrossing the Malay Peninsula, apparently under the control of a skilled pilot.
Malaysia's air force has released few details of its radar tracking beyond saying the plane was last detected off the northwest coast heading towards India.
But the country's deputy defence minister, Abdul Rahim Bakri, told parliament that no action was taken when the unidentified plane was spotted because it was assumed it had been ordered to turn back, local media said.
'It was detected by our radar,
but the turn back was by a non-hostile plane and we thought maybe it was
at the directive of the control tower,' he was quoted as saying.
Asked at the news conference whether air force radar operators thought the plane had been told to turn back by air traffic controllers, Hishammuddin, who is also defence minister, said he could not confirm it.
A dozen aircraft from Australia, the United States, New Zealand, China, Japan and South Korea were once more scouring the seas southwest of Perth in the hunt for wreckage on Wednesday, after bad weather the previous day forced the suspension of the search.
But the area is renowned among mariners for high winds and big waves and the good weather is unlikely to last.
‘This is only going to be a narrow window of opportunity by the looks of things, because another weather system is moving in for Thursday, which looks like that will bring an increase in winds again and also lead to a reduction in visibility through the rain associated with the cold front,’ Neil Bennett, a spokesman for Australia's Bureau of Meteorology, told Reuters.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak this week confirmed Flight MH370 had crashed in the southern Indian Ocean.
The find has dramatically narrowed the search zone, with the debris spotted across an area measuring just 155 square miles (400 square kilometres).
In the past few days the search area has measured around 622,000 square miles - six times the size of the UK.
Debris field: The satellite has found objects in a 155 square-mile area
Homing in: This graphic released by the
Malaysian Remote Sensing Agency on Wednesday shows the approximate
position of objects seen floating in the southern Indian Ocean in the
search zone for MH370
Breakthrough: Malaysia's Defense Minister and
acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein shows a printout of the
latest satellite image of objects that might be from the missing
Malaysia Airlines plane
Monitored:
Malaysian Lieutenant General Ackbal Samad shows a map showing possible
track of Malaysia Airlines MH370 to relatives of passengers aboard the
missing plane
Hishammuddin Hussein told a news conference that the images were captured by France-based Airbus Defence and Space on March 23.
They are the fourth set of satellite images to show potential debris from Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 in a remote part of the Indian Ocean roughly 2,500 km (1,550 miles) south west of Perth.
The objects are believed to be solid and range from one metre to 23 metres (three to 75 feet) long.
It is understood
some pieces of debris are 'bright' but authorities have not confirmed
whether they are from missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.They are the fourth set of satellite images to show potential debris from Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 in a remote part of the Indian Ocean roughly 2,500 km (1,550 miles) south west of Perth.
The objects are believed to be solid and range from one metre to 23 metres (three to 75 feet) long.
Flight MH370 vanished from civilian radar screens less than an hour after taking off from Kuala Lumpur bound for Beijing, and investigators believe someone on the flight may have shut off the plane's communications systems.
Partial military radar tracking showed it turning west and recrossing the Malay Peninsula, apparently under the control of a skilled pilot.
Malaysia's air force has released few details of its radar tracking beyond saying the plane was last detected off the northwest coast heading towards India.
But the country's deputy defence minister, Abdul Rahim Bakri, told parliament that no action was taken when the unidentified plane was spotted because it was assumed it had been ordered to turn back, local media said.
Explanations: Lt. Gen. Samad answers a question from relatives of Chinese passengers on board MH370
Statement: A representative of relatives of
Chinese passengers on board Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, center, makes
an announcement to journalists prior to a briefing with Malaysian
officials at a hotel in Beijing on Wednesday
Focus of air and sea assets: A map of the
areas already searched and the planned search areas in the Indian Ocean,
west of Perth, on Wednesday
Challenging task: The search areas are in one of the most remote areas on earth and in seas renowned for being extremely rough
Asked at the news conference whether air force radar operators thought the plane had been told to turn back by air traffic controllers, Hishammuddin, who is also defence minister, said he could not confirm it.
A dozen aircraft from Australia, the United States, New Zealand, China, Japan and South Korea were once more scouring the seas southwest of Perth in the hunt for wreckage on Wednesday, after bad weather the previous day forced the suspension of the search.
But the area is renowned among mariners for high winds and big waves and the good weather is unlikely to last.
‘This is only going to be a narrow window of opportunity by the looks of things, because another weather system is moving in for Thursday, which looks like that will bring an increase in winds again and also lead to a reduction in visibility through the rain associated with the cold front,’ Neil Bennett, a spokesman for Australia's Bureau of Meteorology, told Reuters.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak this week confirmed Flight MH370 had crashed in the southern Indian Ocean.
How events unfolded: The plane went missing on
March 8, with a British satellite firm tracking its last known location
to an area in the Indian Ocean that's 622,000 square miles
Intense search: The Commanding Officer of
the Royal Australian Navy ship HMAS Success, Captain Allison Norris, on
the bridge during the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight
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