Searchers of the missing Malaysian Airlines plane prepare to launch a sonar-equipped submarine. The search for Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 discovered a previously uncharted shipwreck, but no sign of the missing plane. Photo Courtesy of JACC/ Fugro.
CANBERRA, Australia, May 13 (UPI) -- The search team for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 discovered a previously uncharted shipwreck, but no sign of the missing plane.
"Analysis of the images this week revealed that the debris was indeed man-made, but indicated that it was actually the wreck of a ship," Australia's Joint Agency Coordination Center (JACC) announced Wednesday. "This wreck is previously uncharted and the imagery will be provided to expert marine archaeologists for possible identification."
The ship, likely a 19th century cargo ship, was found 13,000 feet below the Indian Ocean, in the search area of where the aircraft was believed lost. The missing plane disappeared 14 months ago, with 239 people aboard, while traveling from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Beijing.
Peter Foley, leader of the search team, commented the find was "fascinating, but it's not what we're looking for. Obviously, we're disappointed that it wasn't the aircraft. This event has really demonstrated that the systems, people and the equipment involved in the search are working well. It's shown that if there's a debris field in the search area, we'll find it."
An underwater submarine was sent to the area of the shipwreck, JACC said, noting the findings "were of potential interest but unlikely to be related to MH370."
Search teams have concentrated on a 23,000-square mile area of the Indian Ocean, off the coast of western Australia.
