China's Maritime Search and Rescue Center has said that China will go all out in the underwater search for Flight MH370.
Crew member of Chinese Ilyushin IL-76 military transport walks near their aircraft at Subang Airbase near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 03 May 2014. |
Navy vessel 872, which is well-equipped to carry out underwater searches, has left for the southern Indian Ocean and is expected to arrive there on May the 10th. The center said the underwater search in the southern Indian Ocean is very challenging. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said China has so far sent a total of 18 naval vessels, 13 planes and used 21 satellites in the search operation.
Meanwhile, China, Malaysia and Australia will hold a ministerial meeting to decide a detailed plan for further search operations. By Friday, the US Navy's unmanned submersible, the Bluefin-21 had completed 18 search missions in the area where searchers had heard possible pings, from flight MH370's black boxes. The submersible has discovered nothing so far in its search missions.