No sightings were reported at the conclusion of Wednesday's
search operation in the southern Indian Ocean for the “lost” Malaysian Airlines
flight MH370 even as a senior Malaysian official said that all passengers on
board the jet have been “cleared” in a criminal investigation that is being
conducted.
On Wednesday, 10 aircraft and nine ships searched an area of
about 237,000 sq km, about 1,500 km northwest of Perth, Australia's Joint
Agency Coordination Centre (JACC) said in its latest update.
“There were no sightings reported of any objects related to
the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370,” it stated.
“Weather in the search area was fair, with visibility of
approximately 10 kilometres.”
The JACC also said that the HMS Tireless, a Trafalgar Class
submarine of the British Royal Navy, has arrived in the southern Indian Ocean
to assist with the search.
“With her advanced underwater search capability, HMS
Tireless will be a valuable contribution to the search for the missing plane,”
it added.
Additionally, HMS Echo, a coastal survey ship also of the
British Royal Navy, is in the search area to assist in efforts to locate the
transponder on the black box.
It would also play an important role in the search for
debris on the ocean surface and its advanced environmental assessment
capability will help to optimise search operations, according to the JACC.
“The Australian Transport Safety Bureau continues to refine
the area where the aircraft entered the water based on continuing
ground-breaking and multi-disciplinary technical analysis of satellite communication
and aircraft performance, passed from the international air crash investigative
team comprising analysts from Malaysia, the United States, the UK, China and
Australia,” the JACC update concluded.
Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 vanished mysteriously about
an hour after taking off from Kuala Lumpur shortly after midnight March 8.
The Boeing 777-200ER was scheduled to land in Beijing the
same day. The 227 passengers on board included five Indians, 154 Chinese and 38
Malaysians.
In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysian Inspector General of Police
Khalid Abu Bakar said Wednesday that all the passengers on board the missing
MH370 flight had been "cleared" of hijacking, sabotage or having
psychological or personal problems by the police.
A criminal investigation into the incident has freed the 227
passengers from the four elements, he said, according to Xinhua which cited
Bernama news agency.
"They have been cleared of the four (elements). It (is)
according to our own procedure (investigation)," Khalid said after
officiating a seminar for the police.
He said the cabin crew, including the pilot and the
co-pilot, are still being investigated in these four areas.
Khalid said the police have so far recorded statements from
over 170 individuals on the incident, adding that more statements would be
recorded.
The police would not release any findings of the
investigation in case it would jeopardise the ongoing probe, he added.
0 comments:
Post a Comment