Chinese Plane Spots Debris In Search Area For MH370

China's state news agency says a Chinese plane spotted debris in the search area for the missing Malaysian airliner.

AP Photo/Rob Griffith

Two Chinese Ilyushin IL-76s aircraft sit on the tarmac at RAAF Pearce base ready to join the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 in Perth, Australia, Sunday, March 23.

China's state news agency, Xinhua News, said the crew aboard an IL-76 plane spotted a white, square-shaped object in the southern Indian Ocean search area on Monday.

The crew relayed the coordinates of the debris to the Australian command center and to a Chinese ship, the icebreaker Xuelong, which is on its way to the location, the Xinhua News Agency reported. An Australian navy ship is already in the area, BBC reported.

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Latest map of search area off Australia for Flight MH370

05:11 AM - 24 Mar 2014

The search area is based on satellite images that have identified possible debris in the ocean that may be linked to the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. The plane went missing on March 8 with 239 people aboard.

AP Photo/Ng Han Guan

The shadow of a man using his mobile phone falls on a board with the characters "Pray for MH370 safe return" meant for relatives and workers to write their prayers and well wishes in a room reserved for relatives of Chinese passengers aboard the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 in Beijing, China, Monday, March 24.

On Monday, 10 planes scoured the search area for possible debris, which was up from eight the day before. More nations joined the mission in the southern Indian Ocean for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 because of fears that rain would impact the search.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority, which is assisting the search effort, said on Monday: "The weather forecast in the search area is expected to deteriorate, with rain likely."