The air and sea search efforts for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 that crashed into the Indian Ocean has been suspended due to gale force winds, rain and big waves, said the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) on March 25.
It added strong winds of up to 80 kilometres per hour are whipping the area along with heavy rain and low cloud with a ceiling up to 60 metres above the sea.
Search operations are expected to resume on March 26, if weather conditions permit, AMSA said in a statement.
Also on March 25, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said his country will offer further support and cooperation in what has now moved from a search to a recovery and investigation phase.
AMSA made the announcement after Malaysian PM Najib Razak told a press conference on March 24 that MH370 has been lost and none of those on board survived.
He said Inmarsat, the UK company that provided the satellite data, has concluded that the missing jetliner flew along the southern corridor and its last position was in the middle of the Indian Ocean, west of Perth, Australia, far from any possible landing sites.
In response, US State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said there is no reason to believe it is not true, nor any independent corroboration, adding that Washington is working very closely with the Malaysian government.
Earlier, the US military sent a black box locator and a robotic underwater vehicle to the Indian Ocean to help with the search.
In a related development, France's Bureau of Investigation and Analysis (BEA) said a more limited search area needs to be defined to launch undersea searches.
The same day, Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Xie Hangsheng said China has already asked Malaysia to provide all the information and evidence leading to the conclusion that Malaysia Airlines MH370 had ended in the Indian Ocean.
According to the Chinese maritime authorities, more vessels will be sent to the waters of the southern Indian Ocean to search and salvage any wreckage. China has already sent six vessels to the area where two Chinese IL-76 aircraft have scoured the rough seas over the past days.-VNA
It added strong winds of up to 80 kilometres per hour are whipping the area along with heavy rain and low cloud with a ceiling up to 60 metres above the sea.
Search operations are expected to resume on March 26, if weather conditions permit, AMSA said in a statement.
Also on March 25, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said his country will offer further support and cooperation in what has now moved from a search to a recovery and investigation phase.
AMSA made the announcement after Malaysian PM Najib Razak told a press conference on March 24 that MH370 has been lost and none of those on board survived.
He said Inmarsat, the UK company that provided the satellite data, has concluded that the missing jetliner flew along the southern corridor and its last position was in the middle of the Indian Ocean, west of Perth, Australia, far from any possible landing sites.
In response, US State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said there is no reason to believe it is not true, nor any independent corroboration, adding that Washington is working very closely with the Malaysian government.
Earlier, the US military sent a black box locator and a robotic underwater vehicle to the Indian Ocean to help with the search.
In a related development, France's Bureau of Investigation and Analysis (BEA) said a more limited search area needs to be defined to launch undersea searches.
The same day, Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Xie Hangsheng said China has already asked Malaysia to provide all the information and evidence leading to the conclusion that Malaysia Airlines MH370 had ended in the Indian Ocean.
According to the Chinese maritime authorities, more vessels will be sent to the waters of the southern Indian Ocean to search and salvage any wreckage. China has already sent six vessels to the area where two Chinese IL-76 aircraft have scoured the rough seas over the past days.-VNA
