MH370: 122 objects spotted are 'most credible lead yet'
Extra vessels and aircraft arrive in search zone after satellite imagery finds new items
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Latest“A senior figure at Inmarsat said Malaysia was struggling to cope with the amount of information involved in the search operation and suggested that…” MH370 search continues amid storms
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How Inmarsat homed in on missing planeExtra vessels and aircraft arrive in search zone after satellite imagery shows items close to where earlier debris was seen
- theguardian.com,
Malaysia's transport
minister, Hishammuddin Hussein, shows satellite images being used in the
search for MH370. Photograph: Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters
Satellite imagery showing more than 122 possible objects
floating in a patch of the southern Indian Ocean offers the most
credible lead yet in the hunt for the missing Malaysian airliner, the
country's transport minister has said.
The items, estimated to measure between one and 23 metres, were spotted close to where Chinese and Australian aircraft earlier sighted possible debris, Hishammuddin Hussein added.
Extra vessels and aircraft arrived in the search zone – around 1,500 miles (2,500km) south-west of Perth – on Wednesday, as crews resumed work after gale-force winds and heavy rain forced them to leave the area. But forecasters warned the multinational hunt might have to be suspended again on Thursday because of gales and storms.
Twelve planes and two ships – Australia's HMAS Success and the Chinese polar supply ship Xue Long – were sweeping the zone, with South Korean aircraft joining the hunt for the first time.
Malaysia says the total area being searched covers almost 470,000 square nautical miles. Despite several possible sightings of debris, no objects have been conclusively connected to MH370, which vanished on 8 March.
Family members of many of the 239 on board have said they cannot accept Malaysia's conclusion that the flight crashed into the ocean with the loss of all lives until they see physical evidence. Experts say the wreckage is also crucial to understanding what happened to the flight.
Australia's prime minister said the country was throwing everything it had at the search, although the hunt was not open-ended.
"We are just going to keep on looking because we owe it to people to do everything we can to resolve this riddle," Tony Abbott told Nine Network.
"It is not absolutely open-ended but it is not something we will lightly abandon."
But Hishammuddin told reporters: "We will never give up trying to find the plane, to ensure closure for the families and find out what happened to MH370."
He said the images were captured by Airbus Defence and Space in France on 23 March and showed 122 potential objects floating in an area of around 400 sq km, located 2,557km from Perth.
"Some appear to be bright, possibly indicating solid material," he added.
He stressed that there was no way of telling if the potential objects came from the Boeing 777, but added: "[The area] is not far from the objects sighted by China and Australia. This is still the most credible lead that we have."
Investigators are also attempting to further narrow down the plane's possible last location based on its communications with satellites and other factors, he said.
He dismissed the widespread criticism that Malaysia has faced for its handling of the search and investigation, insisting that it had performed admirably in an unprecedented situation. "I think history will judge us well," he told reporters.
Earlier in the day, the transport minister said on Twitter that he had held an "important and fruitful meeting" with the Chinese special envoy dispatched to deal with the case. Zhang Yesui also met the prime minister, Najib Razak.
But Hishammuddin went on to implicitly criticise Chinese relatives who have accused Malaysia and Malaysia Airlines of lying to them and causing the deaths of their loved ones. Around 200 family members protested outside the embassy in Beijing on Tuesday, throwing plastic bottles and cursing diplomats who did not come out to meet them.
"Time will heal emotions that are running high … Chinese families must understand we in Malaysia also lost loved ones," said Hishammuddin.
"I have seen images [of relatives] from Australia: very rational, understanding this is a global effort, not blaming Malaysia, because it is co-ordinating something unprecedented."
Singapore's Straits Times reported that relatives berated the Malaysian ambassador and other officials at a meeting in Beijing on Wednesday.
The team told them that there was sealed evidence in the investigation – including the air traffic control radio transcript, radar data and airport security recordings – that could not be released. The ambassador, Iskandar Sarudin, declined to answer several questions.
Earlier, families complained that the airline had shut its office at the hotel, that caregivers could not be found and that the 24-hour hotline for relatives was ringing unanswered.
"Each relative was taken care of by two special volunteers, but so far, all Malaysian Airlines crew mysteriously disappeared. Do they also lose contact?" they asked via a microblog account named Malaysia Airlines MH370 Relatives Committee.
A Malaysia Airlines official reportedly said the Chinese government had advised them not to come on Tuesday given the tense mood, and that there were around 50 caregivers in Beijing, spread over five hotels, because it had a problem finding volunteers.
Investigators believe the plane was deliberately diverted by someone on board, but say they have not ruled out any possible explanations, from hijacking and sabotage to an attempt to deal with mechanical problems.
"We do not know why … We do not know how the terrible tragedy happened," the Malaysia Airlines chief executive, Ahmad Jauhari Yahya, said on Tuesday.
CNN said an unnamed law enforcement official briefed on the investigation had told it that the plane's unscheduled turn to the west was believed to have been entered at least 12 minutes before the co-pilot signed off to Malaysian air traffic controllers with the words: "All right, good night."
But analysts differed on whether that could be part of an alternative flight plan programmed in case of emergency, or evidence of ill intent.
A US law firm has announced it has started multimillion-dollar legal proceedings against Malaysia Airlines and Boeing. The Chicago-based Ribbeck Law Chartered International said it had filed a court petition in the US, seeking any documents relating to design or mechanical issues or conduct by the airline that could be related to the disaster.
Its statement said: "We believe that both defendants named are responsible for the disaster of flight MH370."
It said it was acting on behalf of Januari Siregar, who lost his son in the crash, but gave no details of the damages sought beyond describing the litigation as a "multimillion-dollar process".
The items, estimated to measure between one and 23 metres, were spotted close to where Chinese and Australian aircraft earlier sighted possible debris, Hishammuddin Hussein added.
Extra vessels and aircraft arrived in the search zone – around 1,500 miles (2,500km) south-west of Perth – on Wednesday, as crews resumed work after gale-force winds and heavy rain forced them to leave the area. But forecasters warned the multinational hunt might have to be suspended again on Thursday because of gales and storms.
Twelve planes and two ships – Australia's HMAS Success and the Chinese polar supply ship Xue Long – were sweeping the zone, with South Korean aircraft joining the hunt for the first time.
Malaysia says the total area being searched covers almost 470,000 square nautical miles. Despite several possible sightings of debris, no objects have been conclusively connected to MH370, which vanished on 8 March.
Family members of many of the 239 on board have said they cannot accept Malaysia's conclusion that the flight crashed into the ocean with the loss of all lives until they see physical evidence. Experts say the wreckage is also crucial to understanding what happened to the flight.
Australia's prime minister said the country was throwing everything it had at the search, although the hunt was not open-ended.
"We are just going to keep on looking because we owe it to people to do everything we can to resolve this riddle," Tony Abbott told Nine Network.
"It is not absolutely open-ended but it is not something we will lightly abandon."
But Hishammuddin told reporters: "We will never give up trying to find the plane, to ensure closure for the families and find out what happened to MH370."
He said the images were captured by Airbus Defence and Space in France on 23 March and showed 122 potential objects floating in an area of around 400 sq km, located 2,557km from Perth.
"Some appear to be bright, possibly indicating solid material," he added.
He stressed that there was no way of telling if the potential objects came from the Boeing 777, but added: "[The area] is not far from the objects sighted by China and Australia. This is still the most credible lead that we have."
Investigators are also attempting to further narrow down the plane's possible last location based on its communications with satellites and other factors, he said.
He dismissed the widespread criticism that Malaysia has faced for its handling of the search and investigation, insisting that it had performed admirably in an unprecedented situation. "I think history will judge us well," he told reporters.
Earlier in the day, the transport minister said on Twitter that he had held an "important and fruitful meeting" with the Chinese special envoy dispatched to deal with the case. Zhang Yesui also met the prime minister, Najib Razak.
But Hishammuddin went on to implicitly criticise Chinese relatives who have accused Malaysia and Malaysia Airlines of lying to them and causing the deaths of their loved ones. Around 200 family members protested outside the embassy in Beijing on Tuesday, throwing plastic bottles and cursing diplomats who did not come out to meet them.
"Time will heal emotions that are running high … Chinese families must understand we in Malaysia also lost loved ones," said Hishammuddin.
"I have seen images [of relatives] from Australia: very rational, understanding this is a global effort, not blaming Malaysia, because it is co-ordinating something unprecedented."
Singapore's Straits Times reported that relatives berated the Malaysian ambassador and other officials at a meeting in Beijing on Wednesday.
The team told them that there was sealed evidence in the investigation – including the air traffic control radio transcript, radar data and airport security recordings – that could not be released. The ambassador, Iskandar Sarudin, declined to answer several questions.
Earlier, families complained that the airline had shut its office at the hotel, that caregivers could not be found and that the 24-hour hotline for relatives was ringing unanswered.
"Each relative was taken care of by two special volunteers, but so far, all Malaysian Airlines crew mysteriously disappeared. Do they also lose contact?" they asked via a microblog account named Malaysia Airlines MH370 Relatives Committee.
A Malaysia Airlines official reportedly said the Chinese government had advised them not to come on Tuesday given the tense mood, and that there were around 50 caregivers in Beijing, spread over five hotels, because it had a problem finding volunteers.
Investigators believe the plane was deliberately diverted by someone on board, but say they have not ruled out any possible explanations, from hijacking and sabotage to an attempt to deal with mechanical problems.
"We do not know why … We do not know how the terrible tragedy happened," the Malaysia Airlines chief executive, Ahmad Jauhari Yahya, said on Tuesday.
CNN said an unnamed law enforcement official briefed on the investigation had told it that the plane's unscheduled turn to the west was believed to have been entered at least 12 minutes before the co-pilot signed off to Malaysian air traffic controllers with the words: "All right, good night."
But analysts differed on whether that could be part of an alternative flight plan programmed in case of emergency, or evidence of ill intent.
A US law firm has announced it has started multimillion-dollar legal proceedings against Malaysia Airlines and Boeing. The Chicago-based Ribbeck Law Chartered International said it had filed a court petition in the US, seeking any documents relating to design or mechanical issues or conduct by the airline that could be related to the disaster.
Its statement said: "We believe that both defendants named are responsible for the disaster of flight MH370."
It said it was acting on behalf of Januari Siregar, who lost his son in the crash, but gave no details of the damages sought beyond describing the litigation as a "multimillion-dollar process".
- COPY http://www.theguardian.com/
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