Australian scientists have said that newly-released satellite photos may help narrow down the location of the missing Malaysia Airlines 370 plane to three places in the southern Indian Ocean, AP reported.
Four satellite photos, shot about a month after the plane disappeared on March 8, 2014, show 70 objects drifting on the ocean near the assumed crash site, Australian scientific agency Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation said on Wednesday.
The Australian government, however, said this analysis may not be correct as the images, released by the French military intelligence, were probably of “man-made floating objects”, and there is no evidence that they were from MH370. The location could, however, provide potential starting points for fresh searches.
“This might be a good clue,” the science agency’s oceanographer David Griffin was quoted as saying. “It might be a red herring. But if you are going to search, then you’d be silly to ignore this potential clue.”
The Malaysian and Australian governments were, however, cautious and have said that they must further examine the images.
In April 21, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, had released a report, which said that the MH370 was likely to have crashed north of the original search zone in the Indian Ocean.
Mysterious disappearance
The aircraft was reported missing on March 8, 2014, with 239 people on board en route to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur. Several teams from different countries had been looking for the Boeing 777 in a 1.2 lakh sqkm area of the Indian Ocean. Over $150 million (Rs 1,020 crore approximately) had been spent on the search, making it the most expensive search operation in aviation history.
The hunt for the aircraft was also riddled with controversy, with many experts saying the wrong area was being searched. Debris from the aircraft had been found on the French island of Reunion, in Mozambique, South Africa and Rodrigues Island and Mauritius among other sites.
In January 2017, the Malaysian, Chinese and Australian governments ended their search for the flight.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!