Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott says that objects spotted via satellite imagery of the Indian Ocean may be related to Malaysian Airlines Flight 370. The flight went missing back on March 8th and this would obviously be major news in a search that has captivated the world. From South China Morning Post:
“New and credible information has come to light in relation to the search … in the south Indian Ocean,” Abbott told parliament. “The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) has received information based on satellite imagery of objects possibly related to the search.”
Abbott said aircraft were en route to the area where the objects were found. The AMSA said it would hold a media briefing in Canberra at 0430 GMT (12.30pm HKT).
Abbott is expected to hold a press conference soon to address this new information. We will have more on this as it develops and will continue to update as information is released.
UPDATE:
Now with video of announcement
UPDATE #2:
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority held a press conference to clarify details related to the newest finding. From Seven Network:
John Young of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority said that an image provided by a satellite that showed two objects, one that was at least 24 metres in size.
He said that there was possible debris south of the area that had been being searched in the past two days.
Young stressed that there was no confirmation the two objects were related to missing flight MH370. He also said that the objects may be difficult to locate.
Four aircraft had been diverted to the area to investigate the objects: A RAAF Orion and three RNZ Orion aircraft.
A RAAF C130 Hercules aircraft has been tasked to drop marker buoys to provide information about water movement and assist in drift modeling.
A ship from Malaysia was expected to reach the area by around 6pm.
Young said that while the weather conditions in the area were moderate, there was very poor visibility and that this would hamper any search efforts.
An image of the search area has also been released, giving a clearer picture of where focus is being shifted in the ongoing search for Flight 370:
