Satellite imagery 'indistinct': Australia

John Young, general manager of the emergency response division of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), answers a question as he stands in front of a diagram showing the search area for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 in the southern Indian Ocean, during a briefing in Canberra on March 20. Photo: Reuters

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, told reporters.

Australia has sent HMAS Success to examine and possibly retrieve debris found 2,500 km south-west of Perth, Australia, in the southern search area for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370. Photo: EPA

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.