22 Mar 2014 11:00 am GMT
A Chinese satellite has spotted debris in the southern Indian Ocean that could be related to Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, officials said on Saturday, in what is hoped to be a strong lead after two weeks of fruitless searching for the missing aircraft.
Satellite images, taken on 18 March, show an object measuring 22 metres by 13 metres (72ft by 43ft) floating 1,550 miles south-west of Perth, Australia. The suspected debris was spotted 75 miles south-west of another floating object – measuring 24 metres (79 ft) across – that was sighted two days earlier but not yet found.
It is unclear whether the objects are the same or unrelated. Rough weather in the southern corridor could move floating objects at high speed, and if the objects lose any air they could sink quickly. Australian officials had expected the 24-metre object to have moved closer to Perth rather than away from it.
Malaysia's defence and acting transport minister, Hishammuddin Hussein, confirmed the sighting during his daily news briefing in Kuala Lumpur, when he was handed a hand-written note saying that China would be investigating.
Source: The Guardian
A Chinese satellite has spotted debris in the southern Indian Ocean that could be related to Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, officials said on Saturday, in what is hoped to be a strong lead after two weeks of fruitless searching for the missing aircraft.
Satellite images, taken on 18 March, show an object measuring 22 metres by 13 metres (72ft by 43ft) floating 1,550 miles south-west of Perth, Australia. The suspected debris was spotted 75 miles south-west of another floating object – measuring 24 metres (79 ft) across – that was sighted two days earlier but not yet found.
It is unclear whether the objects are the same or unrelated. Rough weather in the southern corridor could move floating objects at high speed, and if the objects lose any air they could sink quickly. Australian officials had expected the 24-metre object to have moved closer to Perth rather than away from it.
Malaysia's defence and acting transport minister, Hishammuddin Hussein, confirmed the sighting during his daily news briefing in Kuala Lumpur, when he was handed a hand-written note saying that China would be investigating.
Source: The Guardian
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