28/03/2014 09:51
Flight 370 search area shifts after 'credible lead'
Search teams shifted to a different part of the Indian Ocean Friday in their hunt for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane after "a new credible lead," CNN reported, citing authorities.
An analysis of radar data led investigators to move the search to an area 1,100 kilometers (680 miles) to the northeast, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority said, calling the new information "the most credible lead to where debris may be located."
"It indicated that the aircraft was traveling faster than previously estimated, resulting in increased fuel usage and reducing the possible distance the aircraft traveled south into the Indian Ocean," the authority said in a statement.
Four search aircraft are now over the new area, with six more due to fly there over the course of Friday, said John Young, the authority's general manager of emergency response.
The renewed search for Flight 370 in the southern Indian Ocean comes a day after Japan and Thailand both said they'd sent new satellite images to Malaysia showing separate debris fields that could be related to the plane, which vanished March 8 with 239 people aboard.
Analysts said the search area shift could be a sign that investigators are closing in on the missing plane's whereabouts.
In addition to the the Japanese and Thai satellite images, Malaysian officials announced Wednesday that a French satellite had found 122 pieces of something floating nearby.