MELBOURNE
The search for a missing Malaysia Airlines plane shifted Monday to the south Indian Ocean after a 2,500 km area search south-west of the Australian city of Perth failed to yield results.
The move came after French satellites identified possible debris around 850 km north of the previous search area.
"That's not in the area that had been identified as the most likely place where the aircraft may have entered the sea," Australia's Deputy PM Warren Truss told Australian broadcaster ABC.
"We're just, I guess, clutching at whatever little piece of information comes along to try and find a place where we might be able to concentrate the efforts," he added.
Truss also said that the search was likely to be foiled by unfavorable weather Monday.
Meanwhile, a Chinese search spotted "white objects" in the southern Indian Ocean on Monday, Xinhua news agency reported.
The pilot of an IL-76 plane sent the coordinates to Australian authorities, the report said, adding that a Chinese icebreaker had changed course towards the spot to enable a search.
Flight MH370 went missing after losing radio contact with Malaysian and Vietnamese air traffic control after leaving Kuala Lumpur International Airport on March 8.
The Beijing-bound flight was carrying 239 passengers including 12-flight crew from 14 different countries.
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