Chinese, Australian vessels expand search area for MH370

Chinese and Australian vessels will focus their search efforts in an expanded sea area in the next three days for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane.[Special coverage]

The search area, some 1,500 km northwest to the Australian city of Perth, is determined by drift modeling based on the pulse signals the Chinese patrol ship Haixun 01 has earlier detected.

The rectangular search area is about 48,000 square km, and its center is at around 27 degrees south latitude and 99 degrees east longitude.

The search will continue with Australian vessels led by the Ocean Shield at the eastern part of the defined area and six Chinese ships at the western part.

Jiang Long, captain of Haixun 01, told reporters that the ship now has enough supplies of food and fuel, and the crew also had a rest after it has put into port for supplies.

Jiang added that the ship is well-prepared now to dedicate itself to the next stage of MH370 search.

On April 4, Haixun 01 detected a pulse signal with a frequency of 37.5 kHz -- the same as those emitted by flight recorders, and re-detected the pings for 90 seconds the next day just two km away from the original spot.

However, neither of the signals has been confirmed as related to the missing Boeing 777, said the China Maritime Search and Rescue Center.

Flight MH370 has gone missing since March 8 with 239 people on board en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. An international effort has been launched to search for the missing plane since then.

The Chinese air force detachment with two IL-76 planes arrived in Perth on March 22 to provide help for the multinational operation in the southern Indian Ocean.

But no hard evidence has so far been acquired about the whereabouts of the ill-fated jetliner despite massive multinational efforts.