The objects were spotted on Monday in an area identified by multiple satellite images as containing possible debris from the Boeing 777.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said the crew on board an Australian P3 Orion had located two objects in the search zone - the first grey or green and circular, the second orange and rectangular.

An Australian navy supply ship, the HMAS Success, was on the scene Monday night trying to locate and recover the objects, and Malaysia's Defense Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said the vessel could reach them within a few hours or by Tuesday morning.

Separately, the crew aboard one of two Chinese IL-76 aircraft combing the search zone observed two large objects and several smaller ones spread across several square kilometers. At least one of the items - a white, square-shaped object - was captured on a camera aboard the plane, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said.

"We are still racing against time," Hong said at a ministry briefing. "As long as there is a glimmer of hope, our search efforts will carry on."

China has redirected the icebreaker Snow Dragon toward the latest find, and that ship was due to arrive early Tuesday. Six other Chinese ships have been directed toward the search zone along with 20 fishing vessels that have been asked to help, Lei said.

The international search for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane gained fresh momentum after satellite images provided by Australia, China and France revealed new potential clues.

The flight MH-370 has been missing with 239 passengers, most of them Chinese, onboard en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

RA/BA