LONDON, March 14 (Xinhua) -- Inmarsat, a British satellite telecommunications company, said on Friday that its network had received signals from Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.
In a very brief statement, Inmarsat said, "Routine, automated signals were registered on the Inmarsat network from Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 during its flight from Kuala Lumpur."
"This information was provided to our partner SITA, which in turn has shared it with Malaysia Airlines," the statement said.
BBC also reported on Friday that a satellite system operated by Inmarsat received an automated signal from flight MH370 at least five hours after the plane was reported lost.
That could mean that the plane may have been flying for more than five hours after it disappeared, according to the BBC report.
Xinhua reporter has been trying to contact the London-based company in order to confirm the information.
Inmarsat is a provider of global mobile satellite communications services.
Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, a Boeing 777-200ER, suddenly went missing on its way to Beijing last Saturday morning shortly after taking off from Kuala Lumpur. The plane was carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew, including 154 Chinese.
Search and rescue operations by many nations have not yet found any trace of the plane.
