Malaysia jet search: As it happened on Friday

Zee Media Bureau/Tarun Khanna and Hemant Abhishek

18.30 pm: `Five aircrafts spotted `multiple objects`` AMSA updates state that five aircrafts spotted multiple objects of various colours during Friday’s search for the missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370. Though the objects have not been verified, AMSA states that they cannot be discounted either. It states that a Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) P3 Orion reported sighting a number of objects white or light in colour and a fishing buoy. A Royal Australian Air Force P3 Orion relocated the objects detected by the RNZAF Orion and reported it had seen two blue/grey rectangular objects floating in the ocean. A second RAAF P3 Orion spotted various objects of various colours in a separate part of the search area. 18: 15 pm: Grieving relatives storm out of Malaysia Airlines` press briefing? Reports claim that relatives of the passengers of the ill-fated Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 stormed out of the airlines` press meet after citing that the information given by Malaysian officials was not very useful. 17: 15 pm: New Zealand military plane spots `objects` in Indian Ocean
Crew on board a New Zealand military plane has spotted several objects in the Indian Ocean west of Perth, reports BBC. Surveillance ships will likely reach the area by Saturday. 15: 45 pm: Our priority is to get to the debris sighted by satellites: Hussein Malaysia Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said that the focus right now is to reach the debris sighted by the satellites so that it can be identified if the debris sighted is of MH370 or not. He also said that Malaysia will follow all possible ways to find the `black box` of the missing plane. 15: 20 pm: MH370 flew at a higher speed than previously presumed, says Hussein While addressing media, Malaysia Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein has revealed that the MH370 flew at a higher speed than previously presumed, as reported by BBC. He further added that many nations, including Japan and Thailand, have sent satellite images and that the range of objects show the complexity in the search operation. He also said that Australia is leading the search operation. 14: 15 pm: Malaysian Acting Transport Minister, Malaysia Airlines CEO to brief media shortly Malaysian Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein and Malaysia Airlines CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya are expected to address a press conference in about an hour. 13: 51 pm: Chinese tourists cancel trip to Malaysia Angered over the way Malaysia has handled the MH370 crisis, many Chinese tourists have cancelled their trip to the country. This has adversely affected the tickets sale between China and Malaysia. Moreover, the top online travel agencies in China, including eLong, LY.com, Qunar, and Mango, have banned Malaysia Airlines. They have said that the ban will continue till Malaysian government and Malaysia Airlines release every piece of authentic information about the missing plane. 12: 55 pm: China`s Haixun arrives at new search area China`s largest rescue ship Haixun 01 has arrived at the new search area which is about 320,000sq km and 1,850 km west of Perth, as reported by CCTV NEWS. The search order was sent to Haixun 01 on March 17. The ship, which is equipped with a helicopter, underwater robot, black box search instrument, side-scan sonar and magnetometer, is one of China`s most advanced search and rescue vessels. 12:45 pm: Previous search not a waste of time, says AMSA Australian Maritime Safety Authority`s John Young said that the search for missing Malaysian plane in the new area doesn`t mean that the previous scouring of the southern Indian Ocean had been a waste of time. AMSA said the search would now focus on an area 1,100km north-east of the previous zone. 11:51 am: Kin of Chinese passengers aboard MH370 ask China to intervene in search Families of Chinese passengers have asked Beijing`s special envoy in Kuala Lampur to launch its own investigation into the lost flight MH370, as per AFP reports. Many have criticised the investigation carried out by the Malaysia into the search of the plane so far. They had earlier protested outside Malaysian embassy in Beijing. 11: 30 am: Malaysia Airlines to hold a press conference today Malaysia Airlines will hold a press conference today at 18:00 Malaysia time (10:00 GMT). Later, Malaysia`s acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein will also be addressing the media on updates over missing plane. 10: 22 am: Chinese insurance companies pay compensation to kin of passengers aboard MH370 Chinese insurance companies have begun paying compensation to the families of those aboard the missing Malaysian plane. China Life, the country`s largest insurance company, has compensated the families of seven passengers a total of 4.17 million yuan, Chen Honghao, an official from China Life`s department of planning told Reuters by telephone on Friday. A total of 153 Chinese were on board the the plane. The firms begun making insurance payments after Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak announced that the plane had probably fallen into sea with no survivors. 10: 06 am: Nine ships move to new search zone Nine ships, including HMAS Success and five Chinese ships, are moving towards the new search area of the missing plane, said AMSA. Furthermore, HMAS Success is expected to arrive in the new search area by Saturday night. 9:22 am: New search area of missing MH370 close to Australia Australia Maritime Safety Authority`s spokespersn John Young on Friday said that four of ten search planes are already in the new search area which is 680 miles to the northeast of the Indian Ocean and close to Australia. He also said the depth of water in search area is between 2,000m and 4,000m, as reported by BBC. “The search for the missing plane has been shifted from the previous areas to further south, based on the new information received,” said Young in a press conference. According to AMSA, the weather conditions in the new search area are expected to be better. For more than a week, ships and aircrafts have been scouring seas 2,500 km (1,550 miles) southwest of Perth, where satellite images had suggested there could be debris from Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, which went missing on March 8 with 239 people aboard.