Beijing: Australian Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss said the objects spotted on satellite images that sparked an international hunt, may have sunk. In the remote southern Indian Ocean, the first plane sent to search for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 returned empty-handed.
Malaysian authorities, however, maintained that search efforts were still on for locating the possible debris.
The new reports come even as international efforts to find the missing airline have increased, with India all set to use its long range maritime surveillance. India has already deployed four warships INS Satpura, Sahyadri, Saryu and Batti Malv in the Bay of Bengal, the Andaman Sea and West of the Andaman Islands.
At least seven Chinese ships are also heading for the southern Indian Ocean. The US Navy has deployed its P8 Poseidon. The development came after Australia reported of satellite images spotting possible debris from the missing aircraft.
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(With AFP inputs)