Objects Spotted by Satellite Are 'Best Lead' in Malaysia Airlines Search
March 20, 2014— -- Search crews were scouring the southern Indian Ocean today after two objects that may be related to the missing Malaysia Airlines flight were spotted by satellite, officials said today.
Officials described the sighting as the "best lead we have right now" and said four aircraft and an Australian Navy ship were sent to the region off the coast of Australia. In addition, a Norwegian car carrier, the Hoegh St. Petersburg, was diverted into the search area which is searching through the night using lights and binocular.
WATCH: New Satellite Images Reveal Possible Objects in Indian Ocean
A U.S. Navy P-8 Poseidon search plane is involved with the search, occurring about 1,500 miles off of Australia's coast. ABC News was on board the flight today.
EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: David Wright Aboard Navy Search and Rescue Plane
Australia's government released satellite images of the possible objects today.
The updates have been deemed "credible enough to divert resources to this area," said John Young with the Australian Maritime Safety Authority's Emergency Response Division. The largest of the objects spotted on satellite was about 78 feet long, he said.
"This is a lead. It is probably the best lead we have right now," Young said.
News of the find prompted Australia's Prime Minister Tony Abbott to call Malaysia's Prime Minister Dato’ Seri Najib Razak to inform him of the development.
Malaysia's Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein told a news conference in Kuala Lumpur this morning, "Today what I’m comfortable with saying is at least there is a credible lead… That gives us hope. As long as there’s hope, we will continue… To be fair to the families, we must also show we will never, never give up hope.”
The news provided little comfort to the families of the plane's passengers.
“The one piece of information they want is information we don’t have, is the location of MH370,” Hishammuddin said.
Despite the development, officials were stressing caution, saying the objects will be difficult to find in the vast Indian Ocean and might not be related to Flight 370.
Clouds and rain have limited visibility for today's search efforts, officials said. The Navy's P-8 and a P-3 search plane with the Royal Australian Air Force were both unable to locate any debris today, but other aircraft from Australia and New Zealand were continuing the hunt.
Earlier, American and British aviation officials refined satellite signals from the missing plane, creating two possible flight paths that dramatically narrowed the scope of the search.
The plane was carrying 239 people when it disappeared on March 8.
