PETALING JAYA: The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) today said the objects found in the Indian Ocean, some 2,500km southwest of Perth, is credible enough for them to divert search and rescue teams of MH370 to the area.
“But we can’t yet say that the objects found is from the plane. We received satellite imaginary of the objects and after a review of our experts we feel we need to investigate it further.
It may not be related to the missing plane,” AMSA’s emergency response general manager John Young said in a press conference in Canberra a few minutes ago.
He said the objects were found in the southern part of Australia in the vicinity of the search and rescue area for MH370 which went missing on Mar 8.
The Boeing 777-200ER jetliner went missing an hour into its flight form the Kuala Lumpur International Airport to Beijing, China.
It was carrying 239 passengers and crew. The runaway plane was last spotted by civilian radar heading towards Vietnam over the South China Sea.
Its transponders which sends signal to air traffic control on the plane’s location was switched from inside the jetliner off soon after last contact was made.
The plane was spotted by the military radar an hour after that heading towards the Andaman Sea, on the western side of peninsula Malaysia. Some 27 nations have joined in the search for the missing plane.
Malaysian authorities have said the plane flew in either one of the two routes. One was towards the Indian Ocean while the other was across continental Asia, from northern Thailand to Khazakstan.
The Australian are leading search and rescue operations in the Indian Ocean.
Earlier today, Australian Prime Minister John Abbot told the Australian parliament that search and rescue teams had found two objects which could be from the missing Malaysian airline.
Young said Australia has ordered for more satellite pictures of the area where the objects were found for clarity.
Two Orion and one P8 Poseidon aircraft are being rushed over to the location where the objects were spotted.
The Poseidon aircraft has reached the scene but have yet to send back reports on the find.
The Australian authorities have also flown a C130 Hercules aircraft to the location to drop marker buoys to mark the area.
“We also have a ship sailing towards the location but it would take some time to reach the place.
The ship is to recover any big objects we may find. From the early data, we can confirm that the visibility in the area is low. It may hamper search and rescue operations.
“However a merchant ship that responded to a shipping broadcast issued by Australia on Monday is expected to arrive in the area later.
“The objects are indistinct. Experts say this are credible sightings. The largest image found is 24 metres. Others are smaller images.
He however did not reveal which satellite took the pictures of the objects.
“The image was captured by a satellite passing the area. At the moment, this imaginary could be a debris field. It is credible enough to divert search and rescue operations to the area,” he added.
Young also said the depth of the Indian Ocean in the particular location could not be determined yet.
“It could be several thousand metres deep but I can’t confirm on this now,” he said.
Source : http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2014/03/20/objects-found-the-best-lead-yet-on-mh370/
“But we can’t yet say that the objects found is from the plane. We received satellite imaginary of the objects and after a review of our experts we feel we need to investigate it further.
It may not be related to the missing plane,” AMSA’s emergency response general manager John Young said in a press conference in Canberra a few minutes ago.
He said the objects were found in the southern part of Australia in the vicinity of the search and rescue area for MH370 which went missing on Mar 8.
The Boeing 777-200ER jetliner went missing an hour into its flight form the Kuala Lumpur International Airport to Beijing, China.
It was carrying 239 passengers and crew. The runaway plane was last spotted by civilian radar heading towards Vietnam over the South China Sea.
Its transponders which sends signal to air traffic control on the plane’s location was switched from inside the jetliner off soon after last contact was made.
The plane was spotted by the military radar an hour after that heading towards the Andaman Sea, on the western side of peninsula Malaysia. Some 27 nations have joined in the search for the missing plane.
Malaysian authorities have said the plane flew in either one of the two routes. One was towards the Indian Ocean while the other was across continental Asia, from northern Thailand to Khazakstan.
The Australian are leading search and rescue operations in the Indian Ocean.
Earlier today, Australian Prime Minister John Abbot told the Australian parliament that search and rescue teams had found two objects which could be from the missing Malaysian airline.
Young said Australia has ordered for more satellite pictures of the area where the objects were found for clarity.
Two Orion and one P8 Poseidon aircraft are being rushed over to the location where the objects were spotted.
The Poseidon aircraft has reached the scene but have yet to send back reports on the find.
The Australian authorities have also flown a C130 Hercules aircraft to the location to drop marker buoys to mark the area.
“We also have a ship sailing towards the location but it would take some time to reach the place.
The ship is to recover any big objects we may find. From the early data, we can confirm that the visibility in the area is low. It may hamper search and rescue operations.
“However a merchant ship that responded to a shipping broadcast issued by Australia on Monday is expected to arrive in the area later.
“The objects are indistinct. Experts say this are credible sightings. The largest image found is 24 metres. Others are smaller images.
He however did not reveal which satellite took the pictures of the objects.
“The image was captured by a satellite passing the area. At the moment, this imaginary could be a debris field. It is credible enough to divert search and rescue operations to the area,” he added.
Young also said the depth of the Indian Ocean in the particular location could not be determined yet.
“It could be several thousand metres deep but I can’t confirm on this now,” he said.
Source : http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2014/03/20/objects-found-the-best-lead-yet-on-mh370/
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