Satellite images reveal oil slicks in plane search

Chinese scientists have found three spots containing oil slicks they think might be related to missing flight MH370 as the multi-country hunt for the aircraft continues. [Special coverage]

The Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth under the Chinese Academy of Sciences said on Tuesday that the findings are based on comparison of remote-sensing satellite images of the oil patterns on the ocean surface in the targeted area before and after the plane went missing.

The institute is cooperating with various departments, including the National Marine Environmental Forecasting Center, to determine the hypothetical location of oil from the plane by analyzing factors such as the speed of local currents and timelines for the missing plane in order to confirm whether the oil slicks are related to the plane.

The institute is unable to determine whether the slicks are the same as those sampled earlier since search and rescue teams didn't provide exact location data, but chances are some might overlap.

Meanwhile, the China Coast Guard said its vessel "Haijing 3411" had combed 150 square kilometers in four hours on Monday night with the guidance of NASA satellites but hadn't found anything new.

Contact with Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 was lost on March 8 as it was over the Ho Chi Minh City air traffic control area in Vietnam.

The flight was carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew, including more than 150 Chinese.