Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott says existing evidence suggests that the missing Malaysia Airlines has been lost in the Indian Ocean.

“The accumulation of evidence is that the aircraft has been lost and it has been lost somewhere in the south of the Indian Ocean,” Abbott said on Monday.

The Australian premier also said that there would be no time limit on the search operation for the missing plane, which was carrying 239 passengers, including six Australians, when it vanished from radar screens on March 8 as it was on its way to China.

“This is an extraordinarily difficult exercise. We are searching a vast area of ocean and we are working on quite limited information,’’ Abbott said.

He added that the latest technological equipment is being used in the search and that if the “mystery is solvable, we will solve it.”

Earlier, objects were pulled from the southern Indian Ocean. So far, however, none of the items were identified as being connected to the missing flight.

According to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), 10 planes from Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand, Malaysia, and South Korea took part in a search operation on Sunday, March 30.

The AMSA said that 10 ships, including the Australian navy supply ship HMAS Success, were also on the scene.

The relatives of the 239 passengers who were on board the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 have been accusing Malaysian authorities of withholding information regarding the fate of the plane.

SZH/HJL/HRB

Courtesy: presstv.ir
Published: Mon Mar 31, 2014 6:41AM GMT