France today provided Malaysia with satellite images of objects that could be from a passenger jet that went missing more than two weeks ago.
It is the latest word of such images that officials are hoping will help solve one of the world’s great aviation mysteries, after Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 went missing with 239 people on board.
The pictures are thought to have been taken close to areas of the Indian Ocean where Australia and China provided satellite photographs of objects that could be debris from MH370.
And an image of solid matter floating in the southern Indian Ocean was released, as seen from a Royal New Zealand Air Force P-3K2 Orion aircraft searching for the flight.
Meanwhile, it was claimed that police have seized the personal financial records of all 12 crew members of the flight MH370 – including bank statements, mortgage documents and credit card bills.
Mystery: Solid matter is pictured floating in the southern Indian Ocean, seen from a Royal New Zealand Air Force P-3K2 Orion aircraft yesterday, searching for missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370.
Emotions: A relative of Chinese passengers aboard the missing Malaysia Airlines, MH370, expresses her frustration at the lack of information, to journalists in Beijing.
Working: Leading Seaman Luke Horsburgh stands watch during his duty as Quartermaster on the bridge of the Australian Navy ship HMAS Success after it arrived in the search area for missing MH370.
Ramped up search: Chinese relatives (centre) of missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 leave after a meeting with airline officials at the Metro Park Lido Hotel in Beijing.
Binoculars: A Chinese Antarctic exploration team member aboard Chinese icebreaker Xuelong (Snow Dragon) searches for missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 over the southern Indian Ocean.
Detectives have also got hold of the mobile and landline phone records of the crew, along with details of their computer use and online habits, reported The Sunday Times.
Air and sea searches since last Thursday in a remote area of the southern Indian Ocean to determine whether the objects were from the missing jet have been unsuccessful.
Malaysia’s Ministry of Transport said the images had been sent to Australia, which is coordinating the search about 1,550 miles south-west of Perth.
The images could be another clue in the growing mystery over Flight 370, with the search moving from seas off Vietnam when the plane first went missing to areas now not far from the Antarctica.
There, planes and a ship were scrambling today looking for a pallet and other debris to determine whether the objects were from the missing jet.
Distress: Chinese relatives of missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 are pictured during a meeting with airline officials at the Metro Park Lido Hotel in Beijing.
Anxious wait: A relative of a passenger onboard MH370 answers media questions at the Lido Hotel in Beijing.
Wingwalker: Aircrew walk on the wing of a Japanese Air Force AP-3C Orion after it landed at RAAF Pearce Base to join the search for missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370.
Working together: Disaster relief team leader Masahiko Kobayashi (left) greets Japanese air force Commander Hidetsugu Iwanasa after his AP-3C Orion landed at RAAF Pearce Base in Perth to join the search for MH370.
Possible sighting: A photo released by Chinese broadcaster CCTV shows a new satellite image of a large floating object in the Indian Ocean that could be related to missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.
Diagrams: Mike Barton (right), Rescue Coordination Chief, shows Australian Deputy Prime minister Warren Truss (left), maps of the Indian Ocean search area for the missing Malaysian Airlines aircraft.
The pallet was spotted by a search plane yesterday, but has not been closely examined. Wooden pallets are commonly used in shipping, but can also be used in cargo containers carried on planes.
Mike Barton, chief of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority’s rescue coordination centre, told reporters in Canberra that the wooden pallet was spotted by a search aircraft yesterday.
He added that it was surrounded by several other objects, including what appeared to be strapping belts of different colours.
A New Zealand P3 Orion military plane was then sent to find it but failed, he said.
Squadron leader Brett McKenzie takes notes of other search aircraft on the windshield of a Royal New Zealand Air Force P-3K2 Orion aircraft searching for missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 over the southern Indian Ocean.
