The search for possible debris from the missing Malaysia Airlines flight is being widened after a French satellite provided new leads.

Malaysia’s transport ministry announced late on Sunday it had received pictures of possible aircraft wreckage from French authorities, which had been passed to Australian authorities leading the search for MH370 in the southern Indian Ocean.

Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss says the French satellite images fall in a completely different location to those released by China and Australia, which have been a major focus of the search.

The French images focus on an area about 850km north of the current search area, which is 2500 kilometres southwest of Perth, he said.

“That’s not in the area that had been identified as the most likely place where the aircraft may have entered the sea,” he told ABC radio on Monday.

“But having said all that we’ve got to check out all the options.

“We’re just, I guess, clutching at whatever little piece of information comes along to try and find a place where we might be able to concentrate the efforts.”

The Australian-led operation to find debris proved “fruitless” on Sunday, Mr Truss said.

He warned of deteriorating weather in the search zone but downplayed the likely impact of Tropical Cyclone Gillian, which is expected to track at least 1000km north of the search area.

“Clearly it won’t be cyclonic when it gets down into the freezing waters that we’re dealing with this search,” Mr Truss said.

“But certainly it could stir up less favourable weather.”