Malaysian PM says missing jetliner search to continue
(Vatican Radio) Eight planes and nine ships on Thursday were engaged in the ongoing
search for the Malaysia Airlines jet, believed to have crashed into the Indian Ocean
March 8.
The search crew was employing specialized equipment to detect “pings”
from the plane’s battery-powered recorders. With such batteries expected to last about
30 days after a crash, and with no clear indication of the exact location of the crash
site, the window for this easy detection is starting to close.
Officials
say locating data recorders and wreckage after 30 days remains possible, but becomes
ever more challenging.
While the search has been described as the most difficult
in human history, Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak has pledged that the search
for the missing jetliner will continue until answers are found.
At a press
conference at a Australian military base near Perth, serving as a centre for the international
search effort, Najib thanked search crews and issued a message to the missing passengers’
families.
Najib added that Australia is coordinating the international search
effort and has agreed to act as an “accredited representative in the investigation”.
Both countries have agreed to draw up a comprehensive agreement on the search.
To
date, no trace of the plane’s wreckage has been found and investigations into passengers
and crew have not brought up anything suspicious.