最新消息，来自英国的最新证据显示，当地时间3月8日凌晨失联的马航MH370航班在失踪之后又飞行了5个多小时。

英国BBC记者了解到，在伦敦的一家名叫Inmarsat的通讯公司所控制的卫星系统曾在MH370从雷达监控中消失后的至少5小时时间里收到这架飞机自动发出的信号。

英国科学事务记者乔纳森·阿莫斯（Jonathan Amos）说，飞机只有在并未受损和保持动力的情况下才能发出这样的信号。

这说明，航班飞机失联后正常飞行了5个小时。

美国媒体曾在早些时候援引没有透露姓名官员的话说，这架波音777型客机曾在失联后的数小时时间里试图同卫星建立联系。

上述信息意味着，MH370可能从最后确定失联的位置又飞行了1600多公里。

“新的线索”

美国国务院发言人卡尼（Jay Carney）证实，由于发现“新的线索”，美国调查人员正在把调查目标转向印度洋。但是，这位发言人拒绝透露新线索的细节。美国向印度洋派遣了一艘驱逐舰和一架高性能侦察机，协助搜寻工作。与此同时，印度也应马来西亚政府的要求，派遣海军、空军和海岸警卫队参加搜寻行动，其中包括派遣6艘舰船和5架飞机在安达曼海进行搜索。

中国则在星期五宣布向马来西亚西侧的马六甲海峡派遣巡逻船展开搜寻，此前中国在泰国湾进行的搜寻没有取得成果。

The missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 may have been flying for more than five hours after it disappeared, the BBC has learned.

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

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.

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.

BBC science correspondent Jonathan Amos says the signal could only have been sent if the plane was intact and powered, and may explain why search teams have moved to the Indian Ocean.

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.

That led searchers to believe the plane could have flown more than 1,600 km (1,000 miles) beyond its last confirmed radar sighting.

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.

Malaysia has not yet commented on the latest claims.

The US - one of a number of countries helping to search for the plane - has sent a navy destroyer and a sophisticated surveillance aircraft to the Indian Ocean.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-26583342