PERTH, April 6 — The head of the multinational search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 announced today that two pulse signals had been picked up by a Chinese vessel in the southern Indian Ocean, according to a report by Reuters.
“This is an important and encouraging lead,” Retired Australian Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston told reporters in Perth, according to a CBS News report.
Australian search authorities announced that a Chinese patrol ship, the Haixun 01, had picked up two electronic pulses in recent days matching black box beacons of the missing Malaysian airliner.
The Chinese vessel’s black box detector picked up the signals off the coast of Perth, at about 25 degrees south latitude and 101 degrees east longitude.
Two naval ships, Australia’s Ocean Shield and the British Navy’s HMS Echo are expected to join the Chinese ship.
The Haixun 01 picked up the signal with a frequency 37.5 kilohertz per second, the same frequency emitted by the missing plane’s data recorders.
The jet’s black box recorders, however, only have enough batteries to last 30 days at the most.
After the 30 days, which would be tomorrow, the aircraft will likely no longer be able to emit an electronic cry for help. — Reuters
