Vietnam Thinks It Spotted Plane Debris

Releases photo of supposed wreckage
By Polly Davis Doig,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 9, 2014 9:59 AM CDT
Vietnam Thinks It Spotted Plane Debris
A patrol vessel of Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency searches for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane off Kelantan, Malaysia, Sunday, March 9, 2014.   (AP Photo/Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency)

More than 36 hours into the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines 777, Vietnam says a search plane has found suspected fragments, including a tail piece and a composite inner door. Vietnam's information ministry said that the find was made off its southern coast, about 50 miles from Tho Chu island, reports the Wall Street Journal. (Vietnam released a murky photo of the suspected fragment here.) In a separate report, CNN notes that's about 40 miles away from the area where Vietnam reported seeing oil slicks. But the find appears far from sure: Vietnam says it wasn't able to land near the supposed wreckage, and it's now after dark in the region. Malaysia Airlines says that it has received no confirmation of the find.

Reuters, meanwhile, earlier reported that a "senior source" says officials are looking into the possibility that the plane broke up in mid-air, rather than crashing into the sea whole. " The fact that we are unable to find any debris so far appears to indicate that the aircraft is likely to have disintegrated at around 35,000 feet," says the source. (More Malaysia stories.)

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