Chinese satellite spots possible debris
(chinadaily.com.cn/Xinhua/Agencies) Updated: 2014-03-22 18:23
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This photo from the website of the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense shows an image Chinese satellite captured which reveals a floating objet in southern Indian Ocean possibly linked to missing fligh MH 370. |
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 Dimensions of the Boeing 777-200ER Wing span: 60.9 metres |
KUALA LUMPUR - China's satellite has spotted a 22-meter-long and 13-meter-wide object in the southern Indian Ocean possibly related to the missing Malaysian jetliner, Malaysian Ministry of Transport said in a statement on Saturday.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said on Saturday China had informed Malaysia and Australia the discovery.
The satellite images taken Tuesday show that the object was about 120 km southwest of the suspicious debris Australia announced Thursday, according to China's State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense (SASTIND).
Captured by the high-definition earth observation satellite "Gaofen-1" at around 12 am on March 18 Beijing Time, the imagery spotted the object at 44 degrees, 57 minutes south latitude, and 90 degrees, 13 minutes east longitude, in the southern Indian Ocean, the SASTIND said.
"As we intensify the search and rescue operations, the overall emphasis remains the same: using all available means to narrow the search areas in both corridors,"Malaysian acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein told the press briefing.
He confirmed that China, India, Pakistan, Myanmar, Laos, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan had informed that, based on preliminary analysis, there had been no sightings of the flight MH370 on their radar.
With respect to the southern corridor, he said China is sending additional two ships from the Andaman Sea to join the five Chinese ships already in the southern corridor.
Two Chinese Air Force planes arrived Saturday afternoon at the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Pearce Air Force base in Perth.
The minister said, five aircraft and two merchant ships were in the search area for the suspected objects identified by the Australian authorities, approximately 2,500 km southwest of Perth. Despite improved visual search conditions Friday, no sightings of the objects have been reported, he added. "Generally, conditions in the southern corridor are very challenging,"he said, adding that the ocean varies between 1,150 meters and 7,000 meters in depth.
He said, the original transcript of the conversation between MH370 and Malaysian air traffic control is being analyzed by the investigations team. "As is standard practice in investigations of this sort, the transcript cannot be publicly released at this stage. I can however confirm that the transcript does not indicate anything abnormal," he added.
As to the reported revelation of the last 54 minutes of communications from the missing plane's cockpit, Hishammuddin said it was inaccurate.
When asked about how much Malaysia had spent so far on the search and rescue operation, the minister said neither the Malaysian government nor their partners had talked about dollars in sense. "That is all about trying to find the aircraft," he said, adding that this was the best part of the cooperation.
Hishammuddin Hussein, who placed the size of the object at 22 meters by 30 meters initially, later corrected his statement.
