International and Australian air crews, who are involved in the search for MH370, prepare for an official photograph in Bullsbrook, near Perth, on Tuesday. (Reuters)

Kuala Lumpur, April 29 (PTI): An Australian marine exploration firm today claimed it has found the wreckage of the crashed Malaysian jet in the Bay of Bengal, 5,000km away from the current search location in the Indian Ocean.

Adelaide-based GeoResonance yesterday said it had begun its own search for the missing flight MH370 on March 10, the Star newspaper reported.

GeoResonance’s search covered 2,000,000 square km of the possible crash zone, using images obtained from satellites and aircraft. Company scientists focused their efforts north of the plane’s last known location using over 20 technologies to analyse the data, including a nuclear reactor, company spokesperson David Pope said.

He claimed his company used technology originally designed to find nuclear warheads and submarines.

Pope said GeoResonance compared their findings with images taken on March 5, three days before MH370 went missing and did not find what they had detected at the spot.

“The wreckage wasn’t there prior to the disappearance of MH370. We’re not trying to say it definitely is MH370. However, it is a lead we feel should be followed up,” said Pope.

Another GeoResonance spokesperson, Pavel Kursa, said several elements found in commercial airliners were detected at the Bay of Bengal spot identified by GeoResonance. “We identified chemical elements and materials that make up a Boeing 777...these are aluminium, titanium, copper, steel alloys and other materials,” Kursa said in a statement.

Reacting to the claim, acting Malaysian transport minister Hishammuddin Hussein said the report is yet to be verified. He said the claim by GeoResonance would be discussed during the MH370 Technical Committee meeting.