Search for Malaysia plane continues

More planes have joined an increasingly international search of the south Indian Ocean for missing flight MH370.

Eight planes were sent out on Sunday over a wider search area after China released new images of possible debris.

Australia is leading the search and said it was investigating sightings of a wooden pallet and other items.

Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 disappeared on 8 March en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, with 239 people on board.

Malaysian officials believe the plane was deliberately taken off course.

Based on information received from a satellite, the search has been in two distinct corridors - one stretching to the north-west of the last known location in the Malacca Straits and one to the south-west.

However, none of the countries on the northern corridor have reported any radar contact, and two sets of satellite images of possible debris in the south Indian Ocean have concentrated the search there.

On Sunday, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said there are credible leads in the case.

“Yesterday, one of our civilian search aircraft got visuals on a number of objects in a fairly small area in the overall Australian search zone,” Abbott said.

The pallet was spotted by a search plane on Saturday, but has not been closely examined. Wooden pallets are commonly used in shipping, but can also be used on planes.

It is the latest in a series of clues experts and searchers are trying to run down to solve the mystery of what happened to Flight 370 when it disappeared on March 8 with 239 people on board.