Malaysia: Ships Race To Massive Object New Satellite Image Shows

Ships are racing to investigate a massive object found in the Insian Ocean after China released a satellite image Saturday of a new sign Malaysia Airlines plane lost over two weeks could be in a remote stretch of the southern Indian Ocean where planes and ships have been searching three days.

China’s State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense said on its website that a Chinese satellite took an image of an object 22 meters (72 feet) by 13 meters (43 feet) around noon Tuesday.

The image showed it to be approximately 120 kilometers (75 miles) south of where an Australian satellite viewed two objects two days earlier. The larger object was about as long as the one the Chinese satellite detected.

“The news that I just received is that the Chinese ambassador received a satellite image of a floating object in the southern corridor and they will be sending ships to verify,” Malaysian Defense Minister Hishammuddin Hussein told reporters Saturday said.

The latest image may or may not be a clue in the baffling search for Flight 370, that went missing March 8 shortly after leaving Kuala Lumpur en route to Beijing.

Because Boeing 7777 was equipped to be flown remotely, even if wreckage of the plane only is found, it would not be closure about the weheabouts or fate of the 239 passengers on board MH370.

Two objects discovered by an Australian satellite earlier this week led several countries to send planes and ships to the area, about 2,500 kilometers (1,550 miles) southwest of Australia. One of those objects was described as 24 meters (almost 80 feet) in length and the other was 5 meters (15 feet). But three days of searching have produced nothing.

Two military planes from China arrived Saturday in Perth to join Australian, New Zealand and U.S. aircraft in the search. Japanese planes will arrive Sunday and ships were in the area or on their way.

Flights Saturday in relatively good weather yielded no results. It was not immediately known if the newly released Chinese satellite image would change the search area Sunday.

Even if both satellites detected the same object, it might be unrelated to the plane. It is more liekly to be off of a cargo vessel, some Australian officials believe.

Source: Yahoo News