12:42: ABC News reporter David Wright, who has been on board the a US P-8 Poseidon aircraft, told the BBC's Newshour programme that as soon as the search plane reached the required location - closer to Antarctica than Australia - it became clear that the debris was not to be seen. "It was hopes raised, unfortunately," he said.
12:42: Phil Mercer BBC News, Perth says: Far out to sea, thick cloud and rain have hampered attempts to find the debris that could be part of the missing aircraft. It's almost two weeks since the flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing disappeared, prompting a massive international search across parts of Asia and the Indian Ocean.
David Wright ABC News reporter tweets: Nada today - except for a freighter and 2 pods of dolphins. They'll be back out tomorrow - eager to provide answers to those families #MH370
David Wright ABC News reporter tweets: Alas our 9 hour trip aboard the P8 - including 3 hours of intensive searching did NOT turn up any evidence of debris...
Here is the British coastal survey ship HMS Echo, which will be joining the southern part of the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane
http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/73698000/jpg/_73698471_021599747-1.jpg
11:32: Australia's AP-3C Orion aircraft has landed in Perth after its crew were unable to find the debris.
Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) crew members from of an AP-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft walk down a ladder after they arrived in Perth on 20 March 2014 after searching an area in the southern Indian Ocean for the Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.
Malaysia's acting Transport Minister, Hishammuddin Hussein (centre), headed the news conference on the missing plane in Kuala Lumpur earlier. He has become a familiar face in worldwide media coverage over the past week and a half.
Malaysia's Minister of Defence and Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein (2R) listens to questions from the floor during a press conference on 20 March 2014 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
11:11: Daniel Sutton, a journalist covering the story for Network 10 in Australia, tells BBC Outside Source darkness is closing in on the search area. He says an Australian and US plane are in the area as is a merchant ship. You can listen to the programme here.
The Norwegian ship was sailing from Madagascar to Melbourne when it received a request from Australia to assist in investigating the possible debris, Reuters news agency says.
C. Bingham, England emails: Prior to my retirement I spent 25 years commanding commercial ships and was involved in several search and rescue operations at sea. During all that time I never, ever, witnessed the breathtaking incompetence, misinterpretation of data, and misuse of expensive resources as those which have plagued the search for the missing airliner, and indeed the whole ongoing MH370 fiasco. Equally as worrying have been some of the, frankly half-baked and hopelessly ill-informed, opinions of many of the "experts" who I've seen interviewed in this connection on television.
10:52: Reuters news agency is reporting that a Norwegian ship has reached an area in the Indian Ocean where possible debris may have been spotted.
10:50: According to the Royal Navy website HMS Echo is mid-way through an 18-month deployment to improve charts used by seafarers across the world. The British ship has been in the Gulf conducting hydrographic surveying - but will now join the search for flight MH370.
10:42: The UK Ministry of Defence has confirmed that the UK is sending HMS Echo - a coastal survey ship - to the southern search corridor.
Jim Roberts, Greenwich, London emails: This is only an observation but, today's mass search following the released satellite pictures is four days after the sighting as the pictures have a date stamp of 16th of March and surely the debris could have drifted hundreds of miles in four days!!
10:39: People in Malaysia have been expressing support for the missing passengers and their relatives, as well as the crews involved in the huge search operation. This woman is adding her message to a specially-dedicated glass panel in a shopping centre in Kuala Lumpur.
A woman writes a message for passengers aboard a missing Malaysia Airlines plane, on a glass at a shopping mall in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on 20 March 2014
CCTV News tweets: Malaysian Authorities: High-level team is leaving for Beijing today; gov't officials have spoken to relatives of passengers onboard. #MH370
10:17: The Malaysian prime minister's special envoy to China and China's ambassador to Malaysia will lead a briefing later on Thursday for Chinese families in Kuala Lumpur, officials say.
There were 14 different nationalities represented in the 227 passengers and 12 crew travelling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. You can read some of the passengers' stories here.
10:08: Malaysia says that China is using 21 satellites in the search for the missing plane. Neighbouring countries like Cambodia, Laos, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam are also helping in the search.
10:08: The press conference has now ended. The Malaysian transport minister described Australia's possible sighting of debris as a "credible lead", but said it was not clear whether the objects seen were linked to the missing plane. He said the search in both the southern and northern corridors would continue.
Jim Reed BBC Newsnight reporter tweets: Aussies dropping data buoys in sea near suspected #mh370 pieces to track drift and mark area.
AMSA News tweets: RAAF P3 crew unable to locate debris. Cloud & rain limited visbility. Further aircraft to continue search for #MH370
09:58: The transport minister says the Malaysian authorities have encountered no reluctance from any of the countries involved in the search operation to share satellite information.
09:54: Malaysia Airlines chief executive Ahmad Jauhari Yahya says: "If it is confirmed that the aircraft is located close to Australia we will make arrangements to fly the next of kin there."
09:54: To recap: Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 was flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on 8 March when it lost contact with air traffic controllers. A total of 239 people were on board.
09:52: The transport minister says a "high-level" team is leaving for Beijing later.
09:48: Malaysia's civil aviation chief Azharuddin Abdul Rahman says the news of the debris was received earlier on Thursday. However, it is unclear when the satellite images were taken.
09:44: The search will continue in both the northern and southern air corridors until a sighting is confirmed, the minister says.
The Straits Times tweets: There are 18 ships, 29 aircraft deployed for search: #Malaysia Acting Transport Minister #MH370
09:41: "For the families around the world, the one piece of information they want most - we want most - is the information we just don't have: the location of the aircraft," says Hishammuddin Hussein. He says search efforts will continue overnight.
09:39: The Malaysian transport minister says the UK is sending a ship to help with the search in the southern air corridor.
09:38: Hishammuddin Hussein says: "Every effort is being made to locate objects seen in the satellite images." He says it must be stressed these these images - while "credible" - may not be linked to to the missing plane.
09:35: Malaysian Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein tells the news conference four aircraft have been re-orientated to the search area.
09:33: Malaysian officials are speaking at a news conference.
09:31: Australian aviation expert Geoffrey Thomas tells BBC World News: "This is about the most challenging location you could possibly pick... The seas out there can get to 30m (98ft) in height and the sea floor is about 10,000ft (3,000m) down. This is about as tough as it gets."
09:31: Bimal Sharma, a merchant navy captain whose sister Chandrika is on the missing Malaysia airliner MH370, spoke to BBC 5 live earlier about his "hope" and "despair" as the search continues for the plane. You can listen to the interview here.
09:30: ABC News reporter David Wright is travelling on board a US P-8 Poseidon aircraft on its way to reach floating debris. You can watch the video here.
09:24: Jim Reed, BBC Newsnight tweets: #mh370 press conference about to start in Kuala Lumpur. By now should have had first reports from US P-8 plane in area identified by Aussies.
09:09: Jonah Fisher BBC News, Kuala Lumpur says the US Navy P-8 Poseidon aircraft is currently flying over the area where the objects were spotted. It is scanning both the surface of the water and underneath. Our correspondent says officials are expecting this search plane to give the first indication of whether the debris could be linked to the missing plane.
Family members are also waiting for news at a hotel in Putrajaya, south of Kuala Lumpur. Thirty-eight of the missing passengers come from Malaysia.
A family member sits in the dining area awaiting news about missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, at the Everly hotel in Putrajaya on 20 March 2014
08:50: The BBC has been speaking to some of the relatives of the missing Chinese passengers in Beijing. Zhang Xinyu, whose 67-year-old mother was on the plane, said: "I've heard about the new findings by the Australians in the south Indian Ocean. If it is anything, it would be a bad news for us all. We all wish that the plane had been hijacked and is being hidden somewhere. If the Australian findings really turned out to be remains of the plane, that would mean there's no hope left for us."
ABC News reporter David Wright, who is on board the US Navy P-8 Poseidon aircraft, said the search plane would take about three hours to reach the site of the objects spotted and would then have three hours to scour the area closer to the water before heading back. "The plane has some of the highest tech gear available - some of it classified. If anybody is likely to find something down there this plane has the opportunity to do so," he told the US broadcaster.
CCTV News tweets: The pilot on US P-8: Radar hits seen not believed to be linked to objects identified by Australia.#Update #MH370
08:25: Air Vice Marshal Kevin Short, who's in charge of New Zealand's role in the search efforts, has told the BBC how the air search will be carried out. "The aircraft themselves have been tasked to do a radar and visual search. They will be flying at about 1,000ft (300m) above sea level... Whatever imagery is actually taken will be sent back to the rescue coordination centre for analysis."
Nine News Brisbane tweets: One plane searching for missing @MAS flight #MH370 is due back at the #RAAF base Pearce outside #Perth shortly #9NewsAt6
08:19: AFP news agency has made a graphic putting the objects spotted in the context of the search area and the last communications with flight MH370. You can see the image here.
CCTV News tweets: #US P-8 has arrived in Indian Ocean area; US 7th Fleet spokesperson confirms they have located the debris identified by #Australia. #MH370
08:04: Australian Air Commodore John McGarry said it would take time to analyse the satellite images of the debris. "The task of analysing imagery is quite difficult, it requires drawing down frames and going through frame by frame," AP news agency quoted him as saying.
08:03: Australian authorities said one of the objects spotted was about 24m (79ft) in size but deep under water. Here are satellite images of that object released by the The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (Amsa).
Amsa satellite image
Amsa satellite image
ABC News tweets: UPDATE: US 7th Fleet spokesperson: Radar hits seen by US P-8 not believed linked to objects identified by Australians - @LMartinezABC
Celia Hatton BBC News, Beijing tweets: One father waiting at the hotel told the BBC he wants to believe his son is still alive, refuses to accept possibility #MH370 crashed
Two thirds of the 239 people on board the missing plane were from China. The country's state media says officials there are watching developments closely. The Chinese foreign ministry has ordered the embassy and consulates in Australia to keep in close touch with the Australian authorities and assist in the search and rescue mission, foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.
07:36: Celia Hatton BBC News, Beijing tweets: Scores of police and at least 5 ambulances just arrived at hotel where #MH370 families waiting
Image by Celia Hatton of ambulances outside Beijing hotel where missing passengers' families are
07:28: Here is another map released by Amsa showing the search area teams are focusing on.
Amsa map showing search area for missing flight MH370
The dimensions of the Boeing 777-200ER are listed on Boeing's website here. It says the plane has a wing span of 60.9m (199ft 11in), an overall length of 63.7m (209ft 1in) and a tail height of 18.5m (60ft 9in).
07:12: The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (Amsa) has just released satellite images that show the objects they are investigating.
First satellite image of possible debris
Second satellite image of possible plane debris
07:03: Chinese relatives of passengers from the missing flight react as they wait for news at a hotel in Beijing. It's now 13 days since the plane disappeared.
Chinese relatives of passengers from the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 react as they wait for news at the Metro Park Lido Hotel in Beijing on 20 March 2014
06:53: The Wall Street Journal describes a mood of "sombre disbelief" at the Beijing hotel where relatives of the missing Chinese passengers have gathered. "I don't believe anything they say," Wen Wancheng, whose son was on the flight, told the newspaper. "I just don't believe this news."
Najib Razak Malaysian prime minister tweets: Meeting my Chief of Defence Force. After call from @TonyAbbottMHR, awaiting confirmation from Australia on the objects found. #PrayForMH370
06:41: ABC News reporter David Wright, who is apparently on board the US Navy P-8 Poseidon aircraft involved in the search, says the crew have told him the radar indicates "there is something down there". But it is still too early to tell if the radar hits are related to the missing plane, ABC News reports.
China Xinhua News tweets: China highly concerned about Australia's possible findings related to missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370: FM spokesman
06:31: Damian Grammaticas China correspondent says relatives of the missing Chinese passengers have been told about the possible sightings at a meeting in Beijing. But our correspondent says many are still very sceptical. "It has been so much of a rollercoaster - with so many ups and downs already - they are not going to change their opinions until something concrete is confirmed," he says.
CCTV News tweets: China's FM: Chinese Embassy in Australia will assist in searching the area where debris possibly linked to #MH370 has been identified.
06:27: Capt Bimal Sharma from Delhi - a relative of one of the missing passengers tells BBC News: I want them to find the plane but until they find something specific I can't believe that it will be found there. Surely the Australian prime minister wouldn't have made this announcement though unless he was sure it was something significant, but then he is relying on satellite images which aren't very clear.
I believe my sister is still alive, or rather, I can't let myself believe she isn't.
06:06: Just to recap on those search aircraft involved in identifying the objects in the southern Indian Ocean - a Royal Australian Air Force Orion has arrived in the search area and a US Poseidon aircraft is also reported to be on the scene while a New Zealand Orion and a second Australian Orion are due to arrive later.
Jack Cooksey from Perth emails: Flurry of activity here in Perth with planes and props flying over every minute heading out to sea. Looks like they are running a heavy operation out of Western Australia.
05:46:
Map showing latest Australian search area
This is the map that John Young of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority used in his press conference. It shows the area where the search is now focused.
05:39: Just to get some idea of the scale of the search in the southern Indian Ocean, military planes from Australia, the US and New Zealand have been scouring a region of 305,000 sq km (117,000 square miles).
culled from bbc.com
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