Flight MH370: Australia PM vows to continue hunt for missing plane

WATCH: Australia’s PM vows to continue the search for Flight MH370 for as long as it takes

LATEST UPDATES:

• Objects seen in jet search are fishing equipment    
• Chinese relatives attend prayers at temple
• Commentary in China’s state-run media urges rational behaviour in reaction to missing jetliner
• Australian leader vows search for plane will go on as long as needed

Australia’s prime minister said on Monday that the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 was “extraordinarily difficult” but would continue as long as possible.

Tony Abbott told reporters in Perth, the base for the search, that although no debris has been found in the southern Indian Ocean that can be linked to the plane, searchers would not be scaling back the hunt.

READ MORE: ‘Intensifying search’ at sea yields no debris linked to missing plane

The first planes from Monday’s hunt were over the search area about 1,850 kilometres (1,150 miles) west of Australia.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority said 10 planes and 10 ships, with more than 100 personnel in the air and 1,000 sailors at sea, are taking part in the operation.

They include the Australian HMAS Success and HMAS Toowoomba, as well as seven Chinese ships and a merchant vessel.

The aircraft and ships are scouring a search zone that was redefined based on satellite data from the Boeing 777, although after several days no debris has been found that can be linked to the flight, officials say.

Objects seen in jet search are fishing equipment

A cluster of orange objects spotted by a search plane hunting for any trace of the missing jet turned out to be nothing more than fishing equipment, Australian officials said Monday.

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The crew of an Australian P-3 Orion search plane spotted at least four orange objects that were more than two metres (six feet) in size on Sunday, and the pilot, Flight Lt. Russell Adams, dubbed the sighting their most promising lead in the search for Flight 370. But on Monday, Jesse Platts, a spokesman for the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, said the objects had been analyzed and officials had confirmed “they have nothing to do with the missing flight.”

Chinese relatives attend prayers at temple

Several dozen Chinese relatives of Flight MH370 passengers visited a Buddhist temple near Kuala Lumpur on Monday to pray for their loved ones.

The family members later made a brief statement to journalists, expressing their appreciation to the Chinese government and the people of Malaysia and the volunteers who have been assisting them.

They bowed as a show of gratitude, but also said they were still demanding answers.

READ MORE: Chinese relatives protest, demand apology from Malaysia

“To those who are guilty of harming our loved ones, hiding the truth, and delaying the search and rescue, we will also definitely not forgive them,” said a family representative Jiang Hui.

The relatives’ comments on Monday were seen as a small conciliatory move after they staged an angry protest in front of reporters on Sunday at a hotel near Kuala Lumpur.

READ MORE: New Zealand plane spots objects in new search area

At the time, they chanted slogans, raised banners and called on the Malaysian government to apologize for what they dubbed missteps in the handling of the disaster.

China’s state-run media urges rational behaviour in reaction to missing jetliner

Commentary in China’s state-run media Monday urged people to react “rationally” to the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, after days of protests by passengers’ relatives who say Malaysia has mishandled the investigation.

Many Chinese kin of passengers have expressed extreme skepticism over accounts by the Malaysian government, maintaining it is not telling all it knows about the plane’s disappearance  and expressing frustration that it concluded the jet went down in the Indian Ocean without any physical evidence.

With files from The Associated Press