00:43 Search for Missing Jet in Indian Ocean Turns Up Old Shipwrecks Teams searching for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 stumble across two 19th-century shipwrecks in the Indian Ocean, and now the vessels have been identified.

At a Glance Two shipwrecks discovered deep beneath the Indian Ocean's surface have been identified as 19th Century coal-carrying merchant sailing vessels.

The wrecks were discovered in 2015 during the continued search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.

Two shipwrecks located beneath the Indian Ocean during the search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 have been identified as 19th Century coal-carrying merchant sailing vessels.

According to the Associated Press in Canberra, one of the wooden ships discovered in May 2015 is believed to be either the brig W. Gordon, which disappeared in 1877 while traveling from Scotland to Australia, or the barque Magdala, which sank in 1882 while en route from Wales to Indonesia. Experts say the ship likely sank after a coal explosion.

The second ship built of iron was located in December 2015 and is most likely the West Ridge, a barque that disappeared while en route from England to India in 1883. The cause of the wreck could not be determined.

Ross Anderson, curator of maritime archaeology at the Western Australian Museum, said the wrecks were discovered approximately 22.3 miles apart nearly 1,500 miles off the coast of Western Australia at depths between 12,139 feet and 12,795 feet , according to the museum's report.

“We used a combination of all of the data supplied by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), historical research and maritime archaeological analyses to determine both wrecks were, in fact, 19th Century merchant sailing ships – one wooden and one iron – both carrying coal,” Anderson said.

(More: Winter Storm Riley Uncovers 250-Year-Old Maine Shipwreck )

Anderson noted that the two wrecks are the deepest ever discovered in the Indian Ocean.

“They’re some of the most remote shipwrecks in the world," he added.

It's been four years since the doomed flight disappeared while en route from Malaysia to China, yet the mystery of what happened to the Boeing 777 and its 239 passengers in March 2014 has inspired several searches for clues that will help authorities and families determine the fate of the lost aircraft.