Andhra officials deny spotting pieces of aircraft

Officials in Andhra Pradesh Wednesday denied TV reports that pieces of what was suspected to be an aircraft were seen near the coast.

Officials in Nellore district in south coastal Andhra off the Bay of Bengal found the report by a Telugu news channel to be untrue.

The district authorities deputed some officials along with boats to Kutta Gouduru beach in T.P. Gudur mandal following reports that some fishermen saw objects resembling parts of an airplane.The fishermen had informed police, who in turn alerted district-level authorities. However, after a search in the area, it was dismissed as a rumour.

A Malaysia Airlines plane, with 239 people, including five Indians aboard, vanished while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing March 8.

A TV news channel in Malaysia had reported two days ago that the missing plane may have crashed either in the Bay of Bengal or in the Indian Ocean.