Australian search co-ordinators say a Chinese ship’s detection of a pulse signal in the southern Indian Ocean is an “important and encouraging lead”.
China advised that the Haixun 01 had redetected the signal for 90 seconds within 24 hours of first picking up the pulse, retired Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston said.
He warned that the data were still unverified.British naval ship HMS Echo is sailing to the area to investigate further.
Australian aircraft were also on their way, Air Chief Marshal Houston told reporters. Australian naval vessel Ocean Shield would also head to the latest search area once it had investigated a third acoustic detection elsewhere.Both HMS Echo and ADV Ocean Shield have technology able to detect underwater signals emitted by data recorders.
The signal detected by Haixun 01 reportedly had the same frequency as those emitted by flight recorders ..
After confirming details of the first pulse detected on Saturday which had “characteristics consistent with” an aircraft’s flight recorder, Air Chief Marshal Houston told a news briefing at Pearce Air Base near Perth of a second signal.
“[Saturday] afternoon Perth time, there was another acoustic detection less than 2 km (1.2 miles) from the original.”The second signal lasted about 90seconds, he said.
The search co-ordinator insisted the latest developments should be treated as unverified “until such time as we can provide an unequivocal determination”.
“We are working in a very big ocean and within a very large search area, and so far since the aircraft went missing we have had very few leads which allow usto narrow the search area,” he said.
“I assure you that we will follow up and exhaust every credible lead that we receive.”A dozen military aircraft and 13 ships are already searching three areas about 2,000 km (1,240 miles) north-west of the Australian city of Perth.They will cover some 216,000 sq km on Sunday.
Flight MH370 disappeared en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing four weeks ago with 239 people on board.The plane is believed to have crashed in the southern Indian Ocean, although no confirmed debris has been found.
Credit – BBC
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