More than a year after Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 went missing; searchers on Wednesday discovered a shipwreck in the remote waters of the southern Indian Ocean.
According to a statement released by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) which is leading the underwater search for MH370 in the southern Indian Ocean, the cluster of objects discovered at sea floor appears to be “of potential interest but unlikely to be related to MH370”.
The shipwreck discovery came as ATSB’s advanced survey vessel Fugro Equator’s deep tow system detected a cluster of small sonar contacts in the southern part of the search area, nearly 4 kilometers (3900 metres) below the surface.
Even though it is unlikely to be related to the missing jet, it could however, not be ruled out, the ATSB added.
After conducting a high-resolution sonar scan on the cluster of objects, they were found to be “a large number of sonar contacts lying very close to the seafloor, at a depth of around 3900 metres”.
Though the majority of the objects were very small – around the size of a cricket ball –there were few larger items – the biggest being box shaped and approximately 6 metres in its longest dimension.
The ATSB added that the field of the debris appeared to be of man-made origin but did not exhibit all the characteristics of a typical aircraft debris field.
“It’s a fascinating find, but it’s not what we’re looking for. We’re not pausing in the search for MH370, in fact the vessels have already moved on to continue the mission,” Peter Foley, the ATSB’s Director of the Operational Search for Flight 370, said in a statement reported a news agency.
The Malaysia Airlines flight went missing on March 8, with 239 people on board and ended in the southern Indian Ocean.
