Malaysian Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein(Photo: Manan Vatsyayana, AFP/Getty Images)
Malaysia's acting transportation minister said Tuesday that authorities searching for the missing Malaysia Airlines jet will review an Australian company's claims that the wreckage might be in the Bay of Bengal — thousands of miles outside the current search area.
Hishammuddin Hussein expressed some skepticism but said the claim, from exploration firm GeoResonance, will be discussed by the International Investigation Team overseeing the search.
"There have been too many speculations out there. ... It is impossible to entertain them all," he said in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia's capital. "However, the search mission is still ongoing and the status quo remains."
GeoResonance said in a statement sent to multiple media outlets that it had discovered materials "believe to be the wreckage of a commercial airliner" about 100 miles south of Bangladesh in the Bay of Bengal. The firm said its search tools were the same imaging, radiation chemistry and other proprietary technology it uses to scan vast areas for metals or minerals.
The search targets for the missing Boeing 777 included aluminum, titanium and jet fuel residue.
The firm said it was not "declaring" that the material it detected was from Flight 370, but said it should be investigated. The firm said it went public with its claim after its initial findings, sent to search officials March 31, were essentially ignored.
The Australian agency leading the search rejected the claim, saying its efforts continue to rely on information from satellite and other data. The Joint Agency Coordination Center told CNN it was "satisfied that the final resting place of the missing aircraft is in the southerly portion of the search arc."
Beijing-bound Flight 370 veered sharply off course and vanished shortly after takeoff from Kuala Lumpur on March 8. Authorities have said they believe the plane went down in the southern Indian Ocean about 1,000 miles off Perth, Australia.
Contributing: Associated Press
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