Missing Plane 'may have flown on for five hours'

It is believed the plane was sending automated signals to a satellite system long after radar contact was lost.

This would mean the jet could have flown more than 1,600km (1,000 miles) beyond its last confirmed position.

On Friday, US surveillance teams were sent to the Indian Ocean, much further west than the initial searches.

The Indian navy has also been asked to search an area in the Bay of Bengal off India's Chennai coast, Malaysian authorities said on Friday.

 

However, the BBC understands that a satellite system operated by London-based telecommunications company Inmarsat received an automated signal from flight MH370 at least five hours after the plane was reported lost.

Earlier, US media outlets also quoted unnamed officials as saying that the Boeing 777 was "pinging" satellites for hours after its last contact with air traffic controllers.

White House spokesman Jay Carney has confirmed that US teams were shifting their focus to the Indian Ocean because of "new information", but gave no further details.