Malaysia flight MH370: Chinese plane spots 'suspicious objects'

Originally published March 25, 2014

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A Chinese search plane spotted "suspicious objects", believed to be debris from the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 in the southern Indian Ocean on Monday.

The objects, floating rectangular fragments scattered over several kilometres, were found some 2,500 kilometres southwest of Perth, Australia, according to a Sydney Morning Herald report.

Among them were two larger items and a number of smaller white fragments, according to a report by China's official Xinhua news agency.

China's foreign ministry could not confirm the items were linked to flight MH370, which disappeared on March 8 with 239 people on board, according to The Guardian newspaper.

The Chinese Air Force Ilyushin Il-76 search plane took off on Monday at around 8:45 a.m. from RAAF Base Pearce in Perth and reached a search area where French and Chinese satellites had previously identified potential debris.

Eight additional planes from Australia, the United States, Japan and New Zealand are involved in the search, while a number of Chinese ships are en-route.

The United States Navy also announced it would send a state-of-the-art black box finder to the search area.

The Navy's Pacific Command, based in the Philippines, said it was moving the sophisticated equipment into the area "as a precautionary measure in case a debris field is located

"If a debris field is confirmed," Commander William Marks, a spokesman for the US Seventh Fleet, was quoted by Singapore's Straits Times as saying, "the Navy's Towed Pinger Locator 25 will add a significant advantage in locating the missing Malaysian aircraft's black box."

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