Australian officials co-ordinating the search for the missing Malaysian plane have played down a company's claim that it has identified possible debris.

Australia-based marine survey company GeoResonance said yesterday it might have located the wreckage of a plane in the Bay of Bengal. But Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC) said the area was not consistent with satellite data showing MH370's likely flight path.

JACC added the search for the crashed Malaysian jet was now entering a new phase and would transition over the coming days to an intensified undersea exploration.

Meanwhile, Malaysia yesterday named a former aviation expert to lead the international probe team to find the actual cause of the mysterious disappearance of its jet. MH370 went missing on 8 March as it flew from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people, including five Indians, on board.