Kuala Lumpur/Sydney – The search operation for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 in the Southern Indian Ocean has continued in the Australian Search and Rescue Region, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said on Wednesday.

AMSA said Wednesday’s search was focused on an area of 305,000 square km about 2,600 km south-west of Perth.

A Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) P3 Orion, a U.S. Navy P3 Poseidon aircraft and a Royal New Zealand Air Force P3 joined the search on Wednesday.

Five merchant ships have responded to a broadcast to shipping issued by Rescue Coordination Center (RCC) Australia on Monday night.

Three merchant ships have transited to the area following a broadcast to shipping on Monday evening (local time).

More ships are expected to join the search by Thursday afternoon,according to AMSA.

“Neither the ships nor the aircraft have reported sighting anything in connection to the aircraft,” AMSA said in an update media release issued on Wednesday afternoon.

“It is a challenging search operation and AMSA continues to hold grave fears for the passengers and crew on board the missing flight.” Source: Xinhua