The Australian Maritime Safety Authority has confirmed “objects” have been spotted in the Indian Ocean as the search for missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 continues.

The sightings, made by a Royal New Zealand Air Force Orion, will now need confirmation by ship, which is not expected to happen until tomorrow, Australian officials added.

The zone being searched shifted 700 miles north-east of the previous region earlier, as new data revealed the flight was travelling faster than previously thought, so would have burned more fuel

Search efforts had until Friday morning focused on an area some 1,550 miles to the south-west of the Australian city of Perth.

Using satellite images, several nations have identified objects floating in the sea in that search area.

The Beijing-bound airliner disappeared on March 8th with 239 people on board, the majority of whom were Chinese.

The mystery of why the airliner veered off course and lost contact with air traffic controllers continues.

The remote and vast expanse of ocean has turned the search into a major challenge.