China spots large object, possibly from missing jet
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Malaysia's defense minister says a Chinese satellite has spotted a large object along a broad stretch of ocean where officials hope to find a Malaysia Airlines plane that has been missing for more than two weeks.Hishammuddin Hussein told reporters Saturday that he had been informed that a Chinese satellite had spotted an object 22.5 meters (74 feet) by 13 meters (43 feet).He said, "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."He said he had no other information and that China would release further details. It was not immediately clear whether the object was seen near where another satellite found two objects earlier this week.
Australia lacked progress tracking down the earlier found objects. Nothing has been found in the three days that search crews have been scouring the area where the satellite took images of objects, about 2,500 kilometers (1,550 miles) southwest of Australia. Two military planes from China arrived 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.
Last Update: March 22, 2014 18:15