Missing Plane MH370 Update – Malaysian Prime Minister Speaks to Tony Abbot
Maritime Warfare Officer, Sub Lieutenant Officer Samuel Archibald, looks through binoculars on the bridge of the Australian Navy ship HMAS Perth in the southern Indian Ocean, during the search for the missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370, in this picture released by the Australian Defence Force on April 8, 2014. REUTERS/Australian Defence Force/Handout Reuters

With the recent reports suggesting that the underwater signals that the search teams received may in fact be of the missing plane MH370, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak spoke with Prime Minister Tony Abbot and got an update.

The Joint Agency Coordination Centre has reported that two signals have been detected 1,650 kilometers northwest of Perth, Australia. The finding of the signal has given a strong sense of hope for the missing plane MH370.

The first signal, detected by the Australian Ocean Shield, held for about 2 hours and 20 minutes. The Chinese ship Haixun 01 has also reportedly detected similar signals. Malaysia has been cautious about the news and has requested people to wait for the authorities to further verify these reports.

The rescue team is expected to launch an unmanned autonomous mini-submarine to investigate further in the region where the signals were picked up. The Bluefin-21 autonomous submarine may be used to map the ocean floor in the region and look for debris of the missing Malaysian plane MH370.

The Bluefin-21 is an underwater autonomous vehicle which can carry multiple sensors. The mini-submarine is used for offshore survey and search and salvage operations among other applications.

The Blufin-21 can dive to depths of up to 14,765 feet or 4,500 meters. It can be operated for up to 25 hours at the speed of 3 knots with standard payload. It uses sonar scanners and multi beam echosounder to map the ocean floor.

It has been over 31 days since the Malaysian plane MH370 went missing and the chances of finding survivors is getting slimmer with every passing day. But many people are still hopeful and join in prayer to offer their support.

The Malaysian government has established three ministerial committees to handle different roles during the ongoing search and rescue operation. The Next of Kin committee, led by Hamzah Zainuddin, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, The Technical committee, led by Abdul Aziz Kaprawi, Deputy Minister of Transport and The Deployment of Assets committee, led by Abdul Rahim Bakri, Deputy Minister of Defense.

Although the underwater signals give new hope to finding the missing Malaysian plane MH370 the difficulties involved in the search may prove to be a challenge and it may still take some time before the plane is found.

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