Satellite images of what could be debris from the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 were released on a Chinese government website.

The three images, published by the Chinese State Administration for Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence (SASTIND), were taken at 11am on Sunday, Mar. 9, 2014, and may be the first ones showing the remains of the Malaysian B777 disappeared on Mar. 8.

They show three large floating objects at coordinates 105.63 east longitude, 6.7 north latitude, in the South China Sea some 141 miles from the last recorded transponder signal: according to Xinhua News Agency, the pieces measure 13m by 18m (43ft by 59ft), 14m by 19m and 24m by 22m.

Considered the satellite images were taken four days ago, there’s the risk the pieces have sunk or moved several more miles from the position they were first spotted on Sunday.

A crowdsourcing effort was launched on Monday by DigitalGlobe on its Tomnod website, where users could view hi-resolution satellite shots taken over the Gulf of Thailand and look for signs of the missing airliner. So far, with no luck.

Image credit: SASTIND

Related articles

• What we know and what we don’t about the mysterious Malaysia Airlines MH370 disappearance
• Stolen passports aboard Malaysia Airlines B777 disappeared enroute to Beijing
• Air Malta planes draw heart shape in the sky to celebrate Valentine’s Day
• Russia’s Emergencies Ministry’s evacuation plane just made a quick stop in Syria
• This photo shows the first combat rescue behind enemy lines in Iraq
• The last tense minutes of a fighter pilot about to eject from an F-16 hit by enemy fire over Serbia
• The (somehow) unusual diversion of a US-bound Airbus 330 amid US Embassies threat

About David Cenciotti

WebsiteFacebookTwitterLinkedIn instagram

David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.