 The southern part of the Indian Ocean where the search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 is ongoing is much polluted, the Los Angeles Times reported. Satellites keep picking up images of objects in the water, but nothing has been discovered so far, the paper reported today. “What’s also becoming shockingly apparent is that it’s also a very polluted ocean. Satellites keep picking up images of stuff in the water, but at least so far, none of that stuff has been found, much less identified as debris from the missing plane,” the report said. The LA Times reported that MH370 is believed to have gone down in an area called the Indian Ocean Gyre. According to Marc Lallanilla, the Indian Ocean Gyre is a region where there is little movement of the ocean's currents, which leads to an accumulation of floating rubbish. Lallanilla wrote an article entitled "Finding flight 370: A needle in a garbage patch?" on the website 'livescience.com'. Satellites from China, Japan, United States, Australia, France and Thailand have all spotted suspected debris within the original search area in the Indian Ocean. However, a sailor who studies marine debris at the Algalita Marine Research Institute in Long Beach, California, warned of potential obstacles in the search. "Any search and rescue attempt will be hampered by untold quantities of debris," Charles Moore told the New York Times. "Even with relatively high-resolution satellite imaging, you are going to be confounded by the garbage of civilisation," he told the NYT. The LA Times said while the tragedy of MH370 was not to be dismissed, the incident also showed mankind's callous disregard for the ocean and environment. "The garbage is not just a danger to marine life but also a nuisance to those searching for MH370," Lallanilla said. "Recent research has found that about 1,000 microbes thrive on garbage patches." "Many of the bacteria belong to the genus Vibrio (similar to the cholera bacteria), which is known to cause diseases in humans and animals," the LA Times report said. On Monday night, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced that flight MH370 had ended its journey somewhere in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Najib said this was based on information provided by British satellite company Inmarsat and the UK's Air Accidents Investigation Branch. Based on the new information, the search and rescue operation in the northern corridor was called off. All aircraft and vessel from 26 countries involved in the SAR have been redeployed to the southern corridor. Yesterday, acting Transport Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said a refined data analysis showed MH370 ran out of fuel earlier than what was originally thought. This led to the search and rescue operations being moved 1,100km north with all assets being redeployed there. – March 29, 2014. TMI
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