A large piece of floating debris has been spotted in the remote Indian Ocean search zone for missing flight MH370, it was revealed today.

Chinese satellites picked up signs of a 'suspicious' object measuring 72ft by 42ft in an area 75 miles west of where Australia reported an earlier sighting of floating debris.

The images were taken at lunchtime on March 18, Chinese state media reported, just two days after the sighting by Australian satellites singled out the area in the southern Indian Ocean.

Since the announcement, Australian search teams scouring the remote area reported seeing a number of small objects including a wooden pallet.

A Royal New Zealand Air Force P3 Orion plane with specialist electro-optic observation equipment was diverted to the location, arriving after the first aircraft left but only reported sighting clumps of seaweed.