Search for MH370 uncovers wrecks of merchant vessels

SYDNEY - Two shipwrecks found during the hunt for missing flight MH370 in the remote Southern Ocean were identified on Thursday as 19th century merchant vessels carrying coal, each crewed by up to 30 people.

The Malaysia Airlines plane disappeared in March 2014 with 239 people, mostly from China, on board while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

No sign of the jet was found in the area during the largest search in aviation history, which was suspended in January last year - but the Australian-led hunt did come across two wrecks, the deepest at 3,900 meters.