MH370 Search Crews Race To Beat Bad Weather

International teams hunting for wreckage from flight MH370 are racing to beat bad weather forecast in the search zone.

Crews set off early Thursday morning local time for an area of the southern Indian Ocean where new satellite images showed what could be a debris field.

Eleven aircraft and five ships from six countries are scouring the search area, which has been split in two and covers around 30,000 sq m (78,000 sq km), off the western coast of Australia.

But they set out knowing weather conditions are likely to deteriorate later in the day.

"This is only going to be a narrow window of opportunity by the looks of things," said Neil Bennett, from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology.

New satellite images continue to provide clues in the hunt for MH370

"Another weather system is moving in for Thursday, which looks like that will bring an increase in winds again and also lead to a reduction in visibility through the rain associated with the cold front."

The search was called off for 24 hours earlier this week because conditions were too dangerous for the crews.

Crews will be racing to find any sign of the Malaysia Airlines plane after a French satellite earlier spotted 122 objects, suspected to be debris, around 1,550 miles (2,500 km) southwest of Perth.

Malaysian officials said the items, between one metre and 23 metres in length, were in an area measuring around 155 square miles (400 sq km).

There have now been four separate satellite leads - from Australia, China and France - showing what could be debris.

Another weather system is moving in to the search zone. Pic: bom.gov.au

But it is not currently known if any of the objects are connected to MH370, which disappeared on March 8 on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said crews saw objects while searching on Wednesday, but the items were later lost.

"Three objects were spotted on Wednesday by two aircraft but were not able to be relocated despite several passes," it said.

"They were unrelated to the credible satellite imagery provided to AMSA."

The failure to zero in on any possible debris despite the visuals from crews and numerous satellite images highlights the logistical difficulties of the search area.

A Japanese P-3 Orion has been out searching for debris

It has some of the deepest and roughest waters in the world, roiled by the "roaring forties" winds that cut across the sea.

The winds are named for the area between latitude 40 degrees and 50 degrees where there is no land mass to slow down gusts which create waves higher than six metres (19ft).

"It's a nasty part of the world simply because there's no land to break up any of this swell and waves - it's uncomfortable to be there any time," marine scientist Dr Rob Beaman told Sky News.

"You really need a strong stomach to work in that area so I really feel for the people who are out there doing the search."

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