Latest development:
- Underwater drone's first dive finds 'nothing of interest'
Follow us as we bring the latest updates and coverage for the search of Flight MH370:
'Nothing of interest' in six-hour undersea data
4pm: Analysis of the data collected by the autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) Bluefin-21 following its first mission into the south Indian Ocean has found nothing related to the missing plane, reports the AFP .
Quoting a statement from the US Navy, the report states that the underwater drone was nonetheless undamaged and is set for a second sweep of the ocean floor.
The US Navy had loaned the Bluefin to aid in search and recovery efforts, along with the towed pinger locator which succeeded in detecting four transmissions consistent with that emitted by a plane’s black box emergency beacon last week.
Both equipment were fitted onto Australian vessel Ocean Shield.
The Bluefin was deployed yesterday but its planned 16-hour mission was cut short when it resurfaced upon reaching its programmed depth limit, which was short of 4.5km.
“To account for inconsistencies with the sea floor, the search profile (for the Bluefin) is being adjusted to extend the sonar search for as long as possible,” the navy is quoted saying.
The US Navy also estimates the AUV could take between six weeks to two months to scan the entire search area.
Insurance company to fork out RM2mil to families
3.46pm: Great Eastern Life Assurance (Malaysia) Bhd will pay RM2 million to 14 next-of-kin of those on board missing Flight MH370, setting aside normal procedures to do so, Bernama reports.
The report quotes the company’s director and chief executive officer Koh Yaw Hui, who says: “We understand their situation, and will therefore, just make the payments.”
Koh says the process of making the payments will take a day, and adds that all the clients insured with Great Eastern Life Assurance were Malaysians.
Oz church to hold MH370 mass
2pm: With Easter around the corner, an Australian church will conduct a special service next week for the passengers and crew on board Flight MH370.
According to Bernama , citing an Australian Associated Press report, the mass will be held on April 23 at the St Francis Xavier's Cathedral in Adelaide.
"It is impossible not to be touched by the incredible pain and anguish of the families in not knowing what has happened to their loved ones," Archbishop Philip Wilson is quoted saying.
Shift focus to new phase in search
1.10pm: Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein holds a press conference at the Defence Services Asia exhibition in Kuala Lumpur. Here are some of the highlights:
- Refusing to address whether Malaysia had handled the initial stages of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370's loss poorly, he tells critics to stop looking " too far back ".
He cites media reports which claim a telecommunications tower picked up signal from co-pilot Fariq Ab Hamid as the plane flew over Penang on March 8.
Families receive insurance payout
12pm: Some insurance agencies have began handing out compensation to family members of passengers on board the ill-fated Malaysia Airlines (MAS) Flight MH370, reports New Straits Times .
Choi Loong Chow, husband of Flight MH370 air stewardess Goh Sock Lay says he was contacted by two insurance companies offering compensation without any questions.
"One was from the insurance company appointed by MAS while the other was from my wife's personal insurance.
"I accept the money with a heavy heart as I believe my wife is still alive. Without the plane wreckage or bodies, I will never accept she is gone," he says.
On another matter, some family members of the victims complained they have not received an official letter confirming the lost of their loved ones from MAS.
The letter is needed to sort out outstanding bank loans by the victims, Zamani Zakaria, 56, father of passenger Mohd Razahan Zamani, 33, is quoted saying by the daily.
"I now need to contact MAS for the official letter and discuss the next course of action," he says.
Najib warns against Pakatan's 'we can do better' claims
11.36am: Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak ( right ) hits out at the opposition for suggesting they can solve the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 riddle if given authority.
Najib touches on the matter briefly during his monthly address to the Finance Ministry's employees where he says the bold claim "did not make sense" and describes it as an act of fooling the rakyat, reports Berita Harian .
He is referring to an interview published earlier in the month in China in which Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim allegedly claims he could solve the issue of the missing plane in one second if he was PM.
Previously DAP's Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng had said Pakatan could find the plane if accorded control over the air force and navy, but retracted the remarks shortly after and apologised.
CNN: Fariq's phone connected with telco tower
9.20am: CNN reports Flight MH370 co-pilot Fariq Ab Hamid's mobile phone did connect to a communication tower in Penang, but there were no indications he had made any call.
An unnamed US official cites information allegedly shared by Malaysian investigators, revealing that the communication tower detected Fariq's mobile phone which was searching for service some 30 minutes after the plane diverted from its course on March 8.
"It would be very rare in my opinion to have someone with a cell phone on in the cockpit... It's never supposed to be on at all. It's part of every check list of every airline I am familiar with," David Soucie, a safety analyst is quoted saying.
Last Saturday, New Straits Times reported about Fariq's ( left ) cell phone connection to the communication tower but labelled this a "desperate call for help".
Subsequently, Communications and Multimedia Minister Ahmad Shabery denied Fariq had made any phone call on board Flight MH370.
Bluefin returned to surface after exceeding depth
8.35am: Day 39 for the search of missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 resumes with nine military aircraft, two civil aircraft and 11 ships scouring the Indian Ocean, says the Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC).
The search area to spans 62,063 square kilometres at an area approximately 2,170 kilometres west of Perth.
The JACC says it also plans to redeploy the Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) Bluefin-21 today if the weather is favourable.
The weather in the search area today will see south easterly winds with scattered showered an isolated thunderstorms. Sea swells is expected to be up to two metres and visibility at five kilometres.
Bluefin-21 was finally deployed for the first time last night, however, its mission was cut short when it exceeded its depth limit.
"After completing around six hours of its mission (yesterday), Bluefin-21 exceeded its operating depth limit of 4,500 metres and its built in safety feature returned it to the surface.
"The six hours of data gathered by the Autonomous Underwater Vehicle is currently being extracted and analysed," says the JACC.
Searcher initially held out on sending in the AUV until certain Flight MH370's black boxes battery had expired.
However, after six days with no further transmissions acquired by the US Navy’s ultra-sensitive towed pinger locator, the decision was made to send in the Bluefin.
Background:
- The Beijing-bound Boeing 777-200ER aircraft went missing not long after taking off from KL International Airport in the early hours of March 8, with 12 crew members and 227 passengers.
