One piece measured approximately 24 metres, according to Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott.
6:24 am
China's foreign ministry said today that it hopes Australia can send ships and aircraft as soon as possible to investigate two objects spotted by satellite floating in the southern Indian Ocean that may be from a missing Malaysian plane.
China has told its embassy in Australia to stay in close touch with the Australian government and help in search efforts, the foreign ministry said in a statement.
The foreign ministry's statement came after Australian officials said an Australian air force AP-3C Orion plane was already at the scene, and more aircraft were on the way.
A merchant ship diverted for the task was due to arrive in a few hours.
6:21 am
Two images spotted by satellites that may be potential debris from a missing Malaysia Airlines jetliner were "indistinct", with the largest measuring 24 metres, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said on Thursday.
"They are objects of a reasonable size and probably awash with water moving up and down over the surface," John Young, general manager of the emergency response division of AMSA, said.
Australia has sent four search aircraft and two ships to an area south of the search zone in the southern Indian Ocean it identified earlier this week to search for the objects pinpointed by satellites.
Water in the search area was "several thousand metres deep" and poor visibility in the area would hamper the search, although the weather was moderate, Young said.
6:19 am
Mr Abbott said he spoke to the prime minister of Malaysia, Najib Razak, about the latest developments.
Australia's high commissioner to Malaysia, Rod Smith, joined a meeting of senior Malaysia search officials at a Kuala Lumpur hotel after Mr Abbott's announcement. Mr Smith did not respond to reporters' questions.
Nearly two weeks after the plane went missing, the FBI has joined forces with Malaysian authorities in analysing deleted data on a flight simulator belonging to the pilot of the missing jet.
6:17 am
The Australian maritime agency has released this image showing the area where they suspect the debris to be.
Search crews are on the way there but there are reports of poor visibility in the area.
6:16 am
Tony Abbott did not say where the objects were. Military planes from Australia, the US and New Zealand were covering a search region over the southern Indian Ocean that was narrowed down yesterday from 232,000 square miles to 117,000 square miles.
The hunt for the Boeing 777 has been punctuated by several false leads since it disappeared on March 8 above the Gulf of Thailand.
Oil slicks that were spotted did not contain jet fuel. A yellow object thought to be from the plane turned out to be a piece of sea trash. Chinese satellite images showed possible plane debris, but nothing was found.
But this is the first time that possible objects have been spotted since the search area was massively expanded into two corridors, one stretching from northern Thailand into Central Asia and the other from the Strait of Malacca down to southern reaches of the Indian Ocean.
6:10 am
Australia's prime minister says two objects possibly related to the missing Malaysia Airlines flight have been spotted on satellite imagery.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott told Parliament in Canberra that a Royal Australian Airforce Orion has been diverted to the area to attempt to locate the objects.
The Orion is expected to arrive in the area later today. Three additional aircraft are expected to follow for a more intensive search.
Mr Abbott cautioned, however, that the task of locating these objects will be extremely difficult and "it may turn out that they are not related to the search for flight MH370".
12:26 am
Two key developments on the search for the missing plane have happened tonight.
US President Barack Obama said the search for the missing Malaysian plane is a "top priority" and "every resource" would be made available to find it.
His comments came after it was confirmed the FBI was officially helping with the investigation.
The FBI confirmed it is formally joining the investigation and said one of its roles will be to analyse some of the computer hard-drives which were seized at the pilots' homes.
We are now closing our live blog and will pick it up again later today.
Thanks for following.
10:52 pm
Tonight, US President Barack Obama said the search for the missing plane is a "top priority".
Speaking to KDFW of Dallas, he said: "We have put every resource that we have available at the disposal of the search process."
He added America would keep working to find the plane.
9:30 pm
Investigators probing the missing Malaysia Airlines plane are trying to restore files that were deleted from the pilot’s flight simulator, it emerged today.
Experts believe that recovering the data might help them piece together what happened to the jet.
The files, which contain records of the flight ?simulations made on Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah’s computer at his home, were wiped on February 3, a month before the Boeing 777 vanished.
Revealing the details, Malaysia’s acting transport minister Hishammuddin Hussein said: “Some data had been deleted from the simulator and forensic work to retrieve this data is ongoing.
“I would like to take this opportunity to state that the passengers, the pilots and the crew remain innocent until proven otherwise.”
8:30 pm
Earlier today, Malaysia's transport minister said all of the passengers and crew onboard the missing plane must be treated as innocent of any wrongdoing.
Hishammuddin Hussein, as reported by The Guardian, said: "Passengers, pilots and crew remain innocent until proven otherwise.
"For the sake of their families we ask you to refrain from any speculation that might make an already difficult time even harder."
7:32 pm
Prospects that a 26-nation operation would lead to quick results in finding the missing plane appear to be dwindling.
Investigators today confirmed they were focusing on the remote southern Indian Ocean after failing to find any traces of the jet further north.
"Our top priority is being given to that area," Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said.
7:13 pm
The White House has also confirmed the FBI is assisting with the investigation into the missing airliner.
White House spokesman Jay Carney said Malaysia was also speaking to US aviation and transport accident investigation agencies, the BBC reported.
He added: "We are finding that the level of cooperation with the Malaysian government is solid, and we are working closely with the Malaysians as well as our other international partners in this effort to find out what happened to the plane and why it happened."
6:06 pm
The FBI and US Justice Department have offered to help the Malaysian government with its investigation ever since the plane went missing.
However, it was not until today that they were formally invited to join the inquiry.
Speaking to USA Today, Attorney General Eric Holder said the US and Malaysian governments have been "in ongoing conversations about how we can help."
Holder added: "We're working with authorities, but we don't have any theories (on the cause of the plane's disappearance)."
5:09 pm
The father of one of the passengers onboard the missing flight has told how he still feels his son is alive.
Aubrey Wood, father of Philip Wood, told USA Today: "We're putting it in God's hands. I personally feel he's still alive. … We believe they're somewhere on land. "
Many families are now clinging onto the hope that the plane was hijacked so there family members may still be alive.
4:09 pm
The FBI has confirmed today it is formally joining the investigation into the missing airliner .
One of its roles will be to analyse some of the computer hard-drives which were seized at the pilots' homes.
As reported by USA Today, the material, which includes a flight simulator, could soon be sent to an FBI laboratory in Quantico, Virginia.
3:10 pm
Malaysia Airlines has issued a statement saying that it will send text messages to families to get information to them more quickly.
An email address has also been set up so that families can reply.
The aim is to give 24-hour support to help try and answer questions relatives of people on the flight may have.
The statement said: "The Airline continues to work closely with the authorities and we appreciate the help we are receiving from all local and international agencies during this critical and traumatic period."
2:41 pm
A Malaysian news website has reported unnamed sources as saying that runways in the pilot's simulator included Deigo Garcia, Male International in the Maldives, and several in India and Sri Lanka.
Diego Garcia is a U.S. military base, but sources have already said that it had not landed there.
The source is quoted as saying: "We are not discounting the possibility that the plane landed on a runway that might not be heavily monitored, in addition to the theories that the plane landed on sea, in the hills or in an open space."
Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah's simulator was removed from his home and it was revealed today that information had been deleted from the system.
2:37 pm
Here's the full story on the girl whose father is the chief steward on the missing plane.
She tweeted saying that she wanted her dad to see Liverpool winning and he never misses a game.
Liverpool Football Club replied to her tweet, offering their support.
1:35 pm
Here's a recap of what has happened today in events surrounding the search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.
There were chaotic scenes at a hotel where relatives' frustrations became ever-more apparent, leading to them being manhandled out of a press conference and into another room.
The Malaysian Government later said that it would launch an investigation into the handling of the distraught relatives.
It was revealed that data has been deleted from flight simulators found at the pilot's home and forensics experts are trying to retrieve the data.
As anger grew at a briefing of families in Beijing, Malaysia Airlines said it would be sending more people to the city to help keep relatives better informed.
Thailand finally released radar data showing the plane turning west and Indonesia said it would allow surveillance planes fly in its airspace in the search for the plane.
1:03 pm
At this morning's press conference acting transport minister Hishammuddin Hussein asked other countries to help by releasing their radar data.
He said: "I can confirm that we have received some radar data, but we are not at liberty to release information from other countries.
"I appeal to all our partners to continue volunteering any and all information that could help with the investigation and the search for MH370."
6:24 am
China's foreign ministry said today that it hopes Australia can send ships and aircraft as soon as possible to investigate two objects spotted by satellite floating in the southern Indian Ocean that may be from a missing Malaysian plane.
China has told its embassy in Australia to stay in close touch with the Australian government and help in search efforts, the foreign ministry said in a statement.
The foreign ministry's statement came after Australian officials said an Australian air force AP-3C Orion plane was already at the scene, and more aircraft were on the way.
A merchant ship diverted for the task was due to arrive in a few hours.
6:21 am
Two images spotted by satellites that may be potential debris from a missing Malaysia Airlines jetliner were "indistinct", with the largest measuring 24 metres, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said on Thursday.
"They are objects of a reasonable size and probably awash with water moving up and down over the surface," John Young, general manager of the emergency response division of AMSA, said.
Australia has sent four search aircraft and two ships to an area south of the search zone in the southern Indian Ocean it identified earlier this week to search for the objects pinpointed by satellites.
Water in the search area was "several thousand metres deep" and poor visibility in the area would hamper the search, although the weather was moderate, Young said.
6:19 am
Mr Abbott said he spoke to the prime minister of Malaysia, Najib Razak, about the latest developments.
Australia's high commissioner to Malaysia, Rod Smith, joined a meeting of senior Malaysia search officials at a Kuala Lumpur hotel after Mr Abbott's announcement. Mr Smith did not respond to reporters' questions.
Nearly two weeks after the plane went missing, the FBI has joined forces with Malaysian authorities in analysing deleted data on a flight simulator belonging to the pilot of the missing jet.
6:17 am
The Australian maritime agency has released this image showing the area where they suspect the debris to be.
Search crews are on the way there but there are reports of poor visibility in the area.
6:16 am
Tony Abbott did not say where the objects were. Military planes from Australia, the US and New Zealand were covering a search region over the southern Indian Ocean that was narrowed down yesterday from 232,000 square miles to 117,000 square miles.
The hunt for the Boeing 777 has been punctuated by several false leads since it disappeared on March 8 above the Gulf of Thailand.
Oil slicks that were spotted did not contain jet fuel. A yellow object thought to be from the plane turned out to be a piece of sea trash. Chinese satellite images showed possible plane debris, but nothing was found.
But this is the first time that possible objects have been spotted since the search area was massively expanded into two corridors, one stretching from northern Thailand into Central Asia and the other from the Strait of Malacca down to southern reaches of the Indian Ocean.
6:10 am
Australia's prime minister says two objects possibly related to the missing Malaysia Airlines flight have been spotted on satellite imagery.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott told Parliament in Canberra that a Royal Australian Airforce Orion has been diverted to the area to attempt to locate the objects.
The Orion is expected to arrive in the area later today. Three additional aircraft are expected to follow for a more intensive search.
Mr Abbott cautioned, however, that the task of locating these objects will be extremely difficult and "it may turn out that they are not related to the search for flight MH370".
12:26 am
Two key developments on the search for the missing plane have happened tonight.
US President Barack Obama said the search for the missing Malaysian plane is a "top priority" and "every resource" would be made available to find it.
His comments came after it was confirmed the FBI was officially helping with the investigation.
The FBI confirmed it is formally joining the investigation and said one of its roles will be to analyse some of the computer hard-drives which were seized at the pilots' homes.
We are now closing our live blog and will pick it up again later today.
Thanks for following.
10:52 pm
Tonight, US President Barack Obama said the search for the missing plane is a "top priority".
Speaking to KDFW of Dallas, he said: "We have put every resource that we have available at the disposal of the search process."
He added America would keep working to find the plane.
9:30 pm
Investigators probing the missing Malaysia Airlines plane are trying to restore files that were deleted from the pilot’s flight simulator, it emerged today.
Experts believe that recovering the data might help them piece together what happened to the jet.
The files, which contain records of the flight ?simulations made on Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah’s computer at his home, were wiped on February 3, a month before the Boeing 777 vanished.
Revealing the details, Malaysia’s acting transport minister Hishammuddin Hussein said: “Some data had been deleted from the simulator and forensic work to retrieve this data is ongoing.
“I would like to take this opportunity to state that the passengers, the pilots and the crew remain innocent until proven otherwise.”
8:30 pm
Earlier today, Malaysia's transport minister said all of the passengers and crew onboard the missing plane must be treated as innocent of any wrongdoing.
Hishammuddin Hussein, as reported by The Guardian, said: "Passengers, pilots and crew remain innocent until proven otherwise.
"For the sake of their families we ask you to refrain from any speculation that might make an already difficult time even harder."
7:32 pm
Prospects that a 26-nation operation would lead to quick results in finding the missing plane appear to be dwindling.
Investigators today confirmed they were focusing on the remote southern Indian Ocean after failing to find any traces of the jet further north.
"Our top priority is being given to that area," Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said.
7:13 pm
The White House has also confirmed the FBI is assisting with the investigation into the missing airliner.
White House spokesman Jay Carney said Malaysia was also speaking to US aviation and transport accident investigation agencies, the BBC reported.
He added: "We are finding that the level of cooperation with the Malaysian government is solid, and we are working closely with the Malaysians as well as our other international partners in this effort to find out what happened to the plane and why it happened."
6:06 pm
The FBI and US Justice Department have offered to help the Malaysian government with its investigation ever since the plane went missing.
However, it was not until today that they were formally invited to join the inquiry.
Speaking to USA Today, Attorney General Eric Holder said the US and Malaysian governments have been "in ongoing conversations about how we can help."
Holder added: "We're working with authorities, but we don't have any theories (on the cause of the plane's disappearance)."
5:09 pm
The father of one of the passengers onboard the missing flight has told how he still feels his son is alive.
Aubrey Wood, father of Philip Wood, told USA Today: "We're putting it in God's hands. I personally feel he's still alive. … We believe they're somewhere on land. "
Many families are now clinging onto the hope that the plane was hijacked so there family members may still be alive.
4:09 pm
The FBI has confirmed today it is formally joining the investigation into the missing airliner .
One of its roles will be to analyse some of the computer hard-drives which were seized at the pilots' homes.
As reported by USA Today, the material, which includes a flight simulator, could soon be sent to an FBI laboratory in Quantico, Virginia.
3:10 pm
Malaysia Airlines has issued a statement saying that it will send text messages to families to get information to them more quickly.
An email address has also been set up so that families can reply.
The aim is to give 24-hour support to help try and answer questions relatives of people on the flight may have.
The statement said: "The Airline continues to work closely with the authorities and we appreciate the help we are receiving from all local and international agencies during this critical and traumatic period."
2:41 pm
A Malaysian news website has reported unnamed sources as saying that runways in the pilot's simulator included Deigo Garcia, Male International in the Maldives, and several in India and Sri Lanka.
Diego Garcia is a U.S. military base, but sources have already said that it had not landed there.
The source is quoted as saying: "We are not discounting the possibility that the plane landed on a runway that might not be heavily monitored, in addition to the theories that the plane landed on sea, in the hills or in an open space."
Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah's simulator was removed from his home and it was revealed today that information had been deleted from the system.
2:37 pm
Here's the full story on the girl whose father is the chief steward on the missing plane.
She tweeted saying that she wanted her dad to see Liverpool winning and he never misses a game.
Liverpool Football Club replied to her tweet, offering their support.
1:35 pm
Here's a recap of what has happened today in events surrounding the search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.
There were chaotic scenes at a hotel where relatives' frustrations became ever-more apparent, leading to them being manhandled out of a press conference and into another room.
The Malaysian Government later said that it would launch an investigation into the handling of the distraught relatives.
It was revealed that data has been deleted from flight simulators found at the pilot's home and forensics experts are trying to retrieve the data.
As anger grew at a briefing of families in Beijing, Malaysia Airlines said it would be sending more people to the city to help keep relatives better informed.
Thailand finally released radar data showing the plane turning west and Indonesia said it would allow surveillance planes fly in its airspace in the search for the plane.
1:03 pm
At this morning's press conference acting transport minister Hishammuddin Hussein asked other countries to help by releasing their radar data.
He said: "I can confirm that we have received some radar data, but we are not at liberty to release information from other countries.
"I appeal to all our partners to continue volunteering any and all information that could help with the investigation and the search for MH370."
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