PERTH - Positive identification of any debris related to MH370 will not happen for at least 24 hours, due to bad weather, Australian officials said on Tuesday.
"Until debris is found, everything is virtually speculation", Australia's Defence Minister David Johnston told reporters.
The distance to the search site from Perth is equivalent to the distance to Victoria, he added.
"We are not searching for a needle in a haystack, we are still trying to find the haystack," he said, calling the search a "major operation" in one of the most remote parts of the world.