Chinese satellites spot floating debris in Indian Ocean

AP Photo/ China State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense

Chinese satellites spot floating debris in Indian Ocean
(Image credit: AP Photo/ China State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense)

More than two weeks and plenty of false leads into the search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, Chinese satellites captured images today of an object floating in the Indian Ocean.

Still, the reported size of the newly seen object (74 feet by 43 feet) differs from that of the missing plane, which has a wingspan of 199 feet but a body diameter of just 20 feet. Australian ships and aircraft were nevertheless dispatched to the debris.

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“Tenuous though it is, this is the first credible evidence of anything that has happened to flight MH370,” Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott told reporters at a press conference in Papua New Guinea.

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Sarah Eberspacher is an associate editor at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked as a sports reporter at The Livingston County Daily Press & Argus and The Arizona Republic. She graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.