Australian PM: Finding surface wreckage from missing MH370 'highly unlikely'

As the search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 enters its eighth week with no debris found, authorities are moving the focus of the investigation underwater.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott told reporters at a news conference in Canberra on Monday that it is "highly unlikely at this stage that we will find any aircraft debris on the ocean surface." Noting that the flight has now been missing for 52 days, Abbott indicated that the search would be "entering a new phase" by concentrating efforts underwater.

Abbott's announcement echoes the plan put forth by Malaysian Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein last week, who told reporters that authorities would be "increasing the assets that are available for a deep-sea search."

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Malaysia and Australia are joined by China, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, Britain, and the United States in the search for the missing plane, which has become the most expensive search in aviation history.