Malaysia plane: 122 new objects spotted, says minister

A further 122 objects potentially from
the missing Malaysian plane have been
identified by satellite, the country's
acting transport minister has said.
The images, taken on March 23, showed
objects up to 23m (75ft) in length,
Hishammuddin Hussein said.
Some of the objects captured by France-
based Airbus appeared bright and were
possibly of solid material.
Flight MH370 from Kuala Lumpur to
Beijing disappeared on March 8 with
239 people on board.
The objects were spotted in a 400 sq
km area around 2,557km (1588 miles)
from Perth in Western Australia,
Hishammuddin said.
"This is another new lead that will help
direct the search operation," he said,
adding that the information had been
handed to the Australian Rescue and Co-
ordination Centre in Perth on Tuesday.
The latest images are the fourth known
collection of satellite pictures showing
possible debris in the southern Indian
Ocean. No pieces have yet been
recovered in the search area, which has
now been split into an east and west
section.
The transport minister said Malaysia
Airlines was "now taking a lead in
communicating with the families" and
would be conducting its own press
conferences.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority
(Amsa), co-ordinating the search, said on
Wednesday that flights had resumed and
conditions had improved after rough
seas and heavy rain forced air and sea
operations to be suspended the
previous day.
It said seven military and five civilian
planes were taking part and a total of six
countries were now involved – Australia,
New Zealand, the US, Japan, China and
the South Korea.
Australian authorities said on
Wednesday that three more objects had
been spotted by a civilian aircraft
involved in the search.
However, it could not be confirmed
whether they were related to the
missing aircraft.
The search for debris from the missing
plane is taking place in one of the
world's remotest regions.
If debris confirmed to be from the plane
is found, the search area will narrow
further.
However, experts say the aircraft's
locator beacons, which will help guide
ships to the wreckage, now have less
than two weeks of battery life
remaining.
Specialised equipment which can help
locate the beacon is being flown to the
search area.