MH370: Signals detected, second ‘ping’ also being investigated

PERTH: Australia today sent planes and ships to investigate signals detected by a Chinese ship in the hunt for MH370, saying they matched black box beacons and were an "important and encouraging lead".
Angus Houston, the Australian head of the mission, said a second "ping" was also being scrutinised 300 nautical miles away in the Indian Ocean, as the one-month lifespan of batteries powering the beacons loomed.
He said China's Haixun 01 has twice detected an underwater signal on a frequency used for flight data and cockpit voice recorders – once for 90 seconds on Saturday and another more fleeting "ping" on Friday a short distance away.
"This is an important and encouraging lead but one which I urge everyone to continue to treat carefully; we are working in a very big ocean and within a very large search area," Houston told reporters.
Britain's HMS Echo and the Australian ship Ocean Shield – both also equipped with black box locators – and Australian air force planes were being diverted to the area to help discount or confirm the signals, Houston said.
Ocean Shield was also investigating a signal it detected today in its current location, about 300 nautical miles north of Haixun 01.
Houston said the mission was taking both detections "very seriously" as time ticked down on the beacons' battery life, though he described the Chinese finding as the most promising.
"I think the fact that we've had two detections, two acoustic events in that location, provides some promise which requires a full investigation," he said. – AFP