Search leader urges caution in findings related to missing flight

Angus Houston, head of the Joint Agency Coordination Center (JACC), urged caution Sunday in relaying findings related to missing Malaysian flight MH370.[Special coverage]

The Australian Air Chief Marshal also reaffirmed that pulse signals picked up by a Chinese ship in the Indian Ocean have not been verified.

"I have made it clear, however, these signal and objects could not be verified as being related to the missing aircraft at that point of time and that remains the case," Houston, chief of the coordination body leading the search, told a press conference.

Chinese patrol ship Haixun 01 has picked up in the Indian Ocean a "pulse signal with a frequency of 37.5 kHz," the same frequency as emitted by a plane' s flight data recorder. Meanwhile, a number of floating objects have also been sighted on the surface some 90 km from the detection area.

"It is an important and encouraging lead but one I urge you to continue to treat carefully," Houston said. None has been confirmed as coming from flight MH370 as a massive international hunt has dragged on for four weeks.

Houston said Haixun 01 redetected the signals for 90 seconds Saturday within just 2 km of the original detection following its discovery on Friday.

Australian air force assets will be deployed to assist in further examining the signals in the vicinity where the Chinese ship has detected the "pings", the search chief said.

Australia' s navy vessel Ocean Shield equipped with a U.S.-supplied pinger-locater and British oceanographic vessel HMS Echo with the same devices have been directed to join Haixun 01 in either discounting or confirming the detection in the area.

Up to 10 military planes, two civil jets and 13 ships will look for any trace of flight MH370 on Sunday aided by good weather with a cloud base of 2,500 feet and visibility greater than 10 km, according to the JACC.