(Reuters/CCTV) — A Chinese IL-76 aircraft returned to Perth in western Australia after finding no suspicious objects in the target area in the southern Indian Ocean on Wednesday morning.
The Chinese aircraft took off to at 05:17 on Wednesday morning and began searching for missing the target sea area for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370.
The aircraft found no suspicious objects during its eight-hour flight covering a sea area of around 7,000 square kilometers. It flew back to Perth International Airport at 12:50 on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the multinational search for the wreckage of the missing jetliner has resumed off Australia’s western coast following an improvement in weather conditions, local media reported on Wednesday.
Altogether 12 planes and several ships have joined the search and recovery operation, with six countries involved in the search – Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Japan, China and South Korea, according to the ABC.
The target search area is reported to cover an area of around 80,000 square kilometers.
Flight MH370, a Boeing 777-200 jetliner, went missing on its way to Beijing on March 8, shortly after taking off from Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian capital. The plane was carrying 12 crew members and 227 passengers, including 154 Chinese citizens.
The multinational search for the missing jetliner has entered its third week.