Australian authorities locate possible debris of missing Malaysian flight

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced on Thursday that objects possibly related to the search for the missing Malaysian flight MH370 had been found in the southern Indian Ocean.

Addressing Parliament, Abbott said new satellite images show two possible objects in the ocean and an Australian Orion aircraft is on its way to the area.

New and credible information had come to light in relation to the search, the prime minister said.

"Following specialist analysis of this satellite imagery, two possible objects related to the search have been identified," Abbott said.

"We must keep in mind the task of locating these objects will be extremely difficult and it may turn out that they are not related to the search for flight MH370." The Australian prime minister also said he had informed his Malaysian counterpart Najib Razak about the new developments.

A Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF)P3 Orion has been dispatched Thursday by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA)'s Rescue Coordination Centre Australia (RCC Australia) after AMSA reported two objects possibly connected to the missing Malaysia Airlines MH370.

The Orion is being followed by three other vessels and will arrive at the location within the next hours.

AMSA's RCC Australia will hold a media briefing at 3.30 p.m. AEST as it continues to coordinate the search for the missing Malaysian flight.

Extensive search activities have continued throughout Thursday in the Southern Indian Ocean within the Australian Search and Rescue Region.

Assets that will be involved in the southern ocean search include a (RAAF) P3 Orion, a US Navy P8 Poseidon aircraft and a Royal New Zealand Air Force P3 Orion.

There are now RAAF AP-3C Orion aircraft assigned to the search task being coordinated by AMSA.

Five merchant ships responded to a broadcast to shipping issued by RCC Australia on Monday night.

Four merchant ships have transited through the area over the past two days with a fifth ship expected to arrive in the area.

Xinhua has been told by an AMSA spokesman of the areas extreme remoteness.

"It is a challenging search operation and AMSA continues to hold grave fears for the passengers and crew on board the missing flight." The spokesman said.

AMSA is to hold news briefing on search for the missing Malaysian plane at 3:30 p.m. local time on Thursday.