A Thai satellite has detected around 300 objects in the southern Indian Ocean during the on-going search operations for the missing Malaysia Airlines MH370, officials said Thursday.
The images taken by Thailand Earth Observation Satellite or THAICHOTE show the spotted objects' sizes range between 2 and 15 meters. They were found spread across nearly 2,700 kilometers (1,680 miles) southwest of Perth, the Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency said.
The officials have not yet confirmed the objects to be debris of the missing Malaysia jetliner. "But we cannot -- dare not -- confirm they are debris from the plane," the agency's executive director, Anond Snidvongs, told Agence France-Presse. The information was passed on to Malaysia, he added.
Thailand recently drew flak for not announcing that its radar had spotted an 'unknown aircraft' minutes after the flight MH370 lost its signal, reports South China Morning Post. The country's air force did not report the matter as the plane was not considered a threat.
The current images were taken by the satellite Monday, March 24, a day after French satellite spotted some 122 objects 200 kilometers away from the area where Thailand detected the possible debris. Anond said they needed time to process the images.
The air-based search operation was halted due to bad weather, Thursday. But the sea vessels persisted with their search, according to the Australian officials. "They got a bit of time in, but it was not useful because there was no visibility," the Australian Maritime Safety Authority spokesman Sam Cardwell said of the 11 planes, reports BBC. This was the second time the search operation had to be suspended due to bad weather.
Najib Razak, Prime Minister of Malaysia, announced Monday that the flight MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean and there were no survivors. All 239 passengers including the airlines crew are believed to be lost at sea. The jetliner was headed to Beijing after taking off from Kuala Lumpur. The plane lost signal with the air traffic controllers over the South China Sea.
