Searchers discount objects retrieved in Malaysian airliner search

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CANBERRA -- Ships helping to search for signs of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 have retrieved objects from the sea for the first time, but they could not be confirmed as aircraft debris, Australian rescue authorities said Sunday.

Nine aircraft ended the Sunday's search after covering about 252,000 square km and reported further sightings of objects in the southern Indian Ocean search area west of Perth, according to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA).

"Objects sighted by aircraft cannot be verified or discounted as being from MH370 until they are relocated and recovered by ships. Nothing has yet been verified as being from MH370," said an AMSA statement.

A number of objects were retrieved by Australian navy ship HMAS Success and Chinese vessel Haixun 01 on Saturday.

"The objects have been examined on the ships and are not believed to be related to MH370. The objects have been described as fishing equipment and other flotsam," said the statement.

The aircraft involved in the search Sunday were two Royal Australian Air Force (P3 Orions, a Japanese P3 Orion, a Chinese People's Liberation Army Air Force Ilyushin IL-76, a Republic of Korea navy P3 Orion, a United States Navy P8 Poseidon, a Royal Malaysian Air Force C-130 Hercules and two civil aircraft.

Eight ships were tasked in the search area with a merchant ship also transiting through the area, making the greatest number of ships tasked in the search to date.

The weather in the search area was described as reasonable for searching with visibility further than 10 km.

Australian Defence Vessel Ocean Shield was scheduled to depart from Perth Monday with a black box detector and an autonomous underwater vehicle for finding and retrieving the cockpit voice and flight data recorders.

The search would resume Monday subject to weather conditions.

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