Fresh clues in hunt for flight MH370
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The search for flight MH370 has uncovered fresh clues, after China released images that could show the wreckage of the aircraft, and an oil rig worker claimed he saw a burning plane at the time of the disappearance.
As the investigation into the missing Malaysia Airlines jet entered its fifth day, its focus appears to have switched back to the South China Sea, following earlier reports the aircraft could have turned west towards the Malacca Strait. Yesterday the head of the Malaysian air force denied saying flight MH370 was detected over Pulau Perak, an island off the west coast of the Malay Peninsula.
“I am not saying it’s flight MH370. We are still corroborating this. It was an unidentifiable plot,” Rodzali Daud told reporters in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
And the China’ State Administration of Science, Technology & Industry for National Defence (SASTIND), has now released three images of pieces of debris that could relate to the missing jetliner, and said it is also examining fresh oil slicks.
According to Xinhua, the debris is located off the Ca Mau Peninsula, in southern Vietnam – the area where the investigation began. The photographed debris is large, with Xinhua estimating the biggest object to measure approximately 24m x 22m.
Chinese scientists also said yesterday they have also found three more oil slicks, which they said could be related to missing flight. The Chinese Academy of Sciences said it is now trying to confirm whether the oil slicks are related to the aircraft. It warned however, that they could be the same as those previously tested.
Meanwhile, it has been reported that a New Zealand oil rig worker, Michael McKay, could have seen the plane go down. ABC News has published an email written by McKay to Malaysian and Vietnamese authorities, in which he claims to have observed something “burning at high altitude” at the time of the disappearance. It is not clear whether the letter was received by either country, or whether the information was acted on.
The latest clues will be welcome in an investigation that has become increasingly confused in recent days. Flight MH370 disappeared from radar screens in the early hours on Saturday morning, with 227 passengers and 12 crew onboard.
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