Search for Malaysia Airlines flight 370 debris near Australia hampered by low visibility

The search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight 370 is now focused on the southern Indian Ocean, off the coast of Australia, after satellite imagery revealed two objects that may be debris from the plane.

Satellite imagery captured by the Australian Geospatial Intelligence intelligence Organization on March 16 was analyzed and handed over to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority on Thursday morning. AMSA attributed the delayed receipt of information to "the volume of imagery being searched, and the detailed process of analysis that followed ..."

Two Royal Australia Air Force AP-3C Orions and one RAAF C-130J Hercules aircraft, a Royal New Zealand Air Force P-3K2 Orion, and a U.S. Navy P8 Poseidon were dispatched to search the 23,000 square kilometer area off the coast of Perth.

By Thursday evening, AMSA announced via Twitter, they were "unable to locate debris" due to the inclement weather causing limited visibility.

Hours later, the Australian government announced search operations for the day had concluded and would resume Friday.

[Australian Maritime Safety Authority]