Two objects seen on satellite images in the southern Indian Ocean are being investigated in connection to the missing Malaysia Airlines plane.
Ships and planes from Australia, New Zealand and the US are on their way to the area, 1,550 miles south-west of Perth, to search for the objects.
A report is expected within a few hours.
According to Australian maritime officials, the largest object appears to be 24m in size, but they warned that they could be unrelated to the missing plane.
A massive search involving 26 countries has been underway since March 8 when Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing disappeared, with 239 people on board.
It lost contact with air traffic controllers over the South China Sea as it crossed from Malaysian to Vietnamese air space.
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced the discovery of the objects in parliament, saying: “The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (Amsa) has received information based on satellite information of objects possibly related to the search.
“Following specialist analysis of this satellite imagery, two possible objects related to the search have been identified.”
