Five aircraft spotted multiple objects of various colours during Friday’s search for the missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370.
Search activities have now concluded. A total of 256,000 square kilometres was searched.
Photographic imagery of the objects was captured and will be assessed overnight.
The objects cannot be verified or discounted as being from MH370 until they are relocated and recovered by ships.
A Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) P3 Orion reported sighting a number of objects white or light in colour and a fishing buoy.
A Royal Australian Air Force P3 Orion relocated the objects detected by the RNZAF Orion and reported it had seen two blue/grey rectangular objects floating in the ocean.
A second RAAF P3 Orion spotted various objects of various colours in a separate part of the search area about 546 kilometres away.
A total of ten planes were tasked by AMSA in today’s search and all have now departed the search area.
AMSA has tasked Chinese Maritime Administration patrol ship, Haixun 01, which is in the search area and will be in a position to relocate the objects on Saturday.
Friday’s search area was shifted north after international air crash investigators in Malaysia provided the latest credible lead available to AMSA.
This was on the advice of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB).
Weather conditions in the area are expected to be reasonable for searching on Saturday.
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Press Release, March 28, 2014; Image: Wikimedia