The Associated Press reports that a Chinese ship involved in the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 has detected a “pulse” today in the southern part of the Indian Ocean. While Chinese news agencies say the signal is the same type emitted by flight data recorders, the Australian government agency coordinating the search has not yet confirmed the report.
Xinhua News Agency, China’s official news outlet, reports that Chinese ship Haixun 01 deployed a black box detector in the waters off Australia’s west coast. The detector today picked up a 37.5kHz signal similar to the one that would be emitted by Flight 370’s data recorder.
The hunt for the missing Boeing 777, which was carrying 239 passengers when it disappeared on March 8, is among the hardest ever undertaken according to officials involved. That’s partly due to the massive area of ocean being searched — nearly 84,000 square miles — and the limitations of the technology involved. Further, the batteries contained in the plane’s flight data recorder only last for about a month, and if they run out of energy, locating the recorders will become immensely harder.
Malaysia’s acting transport minister Hishammuddin Hussein told reporters that the cost of the search is unimportant compared to the peace of mind that answers will provide for the families of those lost. “I can only speak for Malaysia, and Malaysia will not stop looking for MH370,” Hishammuddin said. [AP]
Image: A Royal Australian Air Force E-7A Wedgetail takes off from Perth Airport on route to conduct search operations for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 in southern Indian Ocean, near the coast of Western Australia, Saturday, April 5, 2014. (AP Photo/Rob Griffith)