It's been nearly three weeks since Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 went missing above the waters between Malaysia and south Vietnam.
Investigators now say they have sighted objects in the Indian Ocean that could belong to the plane, but severe weather in the area has slowed down the hunt, the Associated Press reported.
Powerful winds and currents in the water have made it hard to pin down the exact location of the unidentified objects. That was followed by a Thursday storm that stopped search efforts in the air, the AP reported.
The plane, with 239 passengers on board, took off from Malaysia headed to Beijing on March 8. Investigators say that not long into the flight, the plane's communication systems were deliberately shut off and the aircraft was steered off its course. The international search has now focused on the Indian Ocean, where mysterious objects in the water were picked up by satellite.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority held back 11 planes set to take off Thursday for the south of Perth due to low clouds, heavy rainfall and wind, the AP reported.
The planes that did make it to the area, however, found nothing after being there for almost two hours because it was hard to see, AMSA spokesman Sam Cardwell told the AP.
"They got a bit of time in, but it was not useful because there was no visibility," Cardwell said.
The AMSA said the weather is expected to last 24 hours, according to the AP.
The families of the passengers on the plane have been waiting for confirmation of whether or not the pieces are in fact from the plane before jumping to conclusions.
"Until something is picked up and analyzed to make sure it's from MH370, we can't believe it," Steve Wang told the AP. His mother was a passenger on the flight. "Without that, it's useless."
