DHAKA: Search teams shifted to a different part of the Indian Ocean Friday in their hunt for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane after "a new credible lead," authorities said.

An analysis of radar data led investigators to move the search to an area 1,100 kilometers (680 miles) to the northeast, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority said, calling the new information "the most credible lead to where debris may be located."

"It indicated that the aircraft was traveling faster than previously estimated, resulting in increased fuel usage and reducing the possible distance the aircraft traveled south into the Indian Ocean," the authority said in a statement, report the CNN.

The renewed search for Flight 370 in the southern Indian Ocean comes a day after Japan and Thailand both said they`d sent new satellite images to Malaysia showing separate debris fields that could be related to the plane, which vanished March 8 with 239 people aboard.

Analysts said the search area shift could be a sign that investigators are closing in on the missing plane`s whereabouts.

"With this development, perhaps they`re able to hone in on the more accurate altitude," said Mary Schiavo, a CNN aviation analyst and former inspector general for the U.S. Department of Transportation.

That, experts said, could bring investigators closer to determining what happened aboard the plane, what caused it to veer off course and where it ended up.

BDST: 0856 HRS, MAR 28, 2014