Image via Shutterstock
Ships from China are searching new areas for the missing Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 as Thailand said its radars may have tracked the flight shortly after it lost contact.
China has sent nine ships to waters southeast of the Bay of Bengal and west of Indonesia.
Teams from 26 countries are trying to find flight MH370, which went missing on March 8 with 239 people on board.
The entire search area is now roughly the size of Australia, the BBC reported.
Investigators are looking into the possibility that the aircraft’s crew – or others on the aircraft – were involved in its disappearance.
Malaysia says the 777, which was flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, was intentionally diverted and could have flown on either a northern or southern arc from its last known position in the Malacca Straits.
The Chinese vessels set off from Singapore early today to search an area of around 116,000 sq miles, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
The ships would focus on waters near Sumatra, away from regions being searched by other countries.
Thailand’s air force said a re-examination of its radar data found what may have been the MAS aircraft travelling west towards the Malacca Straits shortly after it lost contact with air traffic controllers.
This would be consistent with Malaysia’s military radar, which spotted the 777 over the Malacca Straits – the opposite direction from its planned flight path – early on March 8.