Visual search for MH370 continues, taking time: AMSA

Visual search continued on Sunday for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 in the sea area where suspicious objects had been spotted by satellite images, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said. [Special coverage]

The visual search may take time as the biggest challenge is remoteness of the search area, which is about 2,500 kilometers away from the Australian southwestern port city of Perth, an official with AMSA said at a press conference.

A total of eight planes and Australian navy support vessel HMAS Success will scour the area deep in the Indian Ocean, the official said.

Two Chinese military aircraft arrived Saturday and they were scheduled to start search on Monday, the official said, adding China has been very focused in the search efforts.

The Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 went missing on March 8 en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, with 239 people on board, including 154 Chinese.

After two-week futile search, China said on Saturday that its satellite spotted a 22-meter-long and 13-meter-wide floating object along the southern corridor in the Indian Ocean that the missing plane might have taken.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said earlier Sunday that the first visual sighting of small pieces of debris were reported by a civilian aircraft, but he added that it was too early to confirm their linkage to the missing flight.