After yesterdays bad weather, the search begins anew, with a multinational effort involved. Seven military aircraft are involved today, including:
- One Ilyushin IL-76 aircraft from China (the first plane to go out on search today)
- A P3 Orion from Japan
- A P3 Orion from the Republic of Korea
- Two Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) P3 Orion
- A United States Navy P8 Poseidon
- A Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) P3 Orion
In addition five civilian aircraft will be joining the search effort, bringing a total twelve aircraft in the air today. The search begun at 08:00AEDT, leading off with the Chinese IL-76
Meanwhile on the sea, the HMAS Success has returned to the area, whilst the Chinese polar supply ship Yue Long joining it for the search of floating debris.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority released the following graphic, showing todays search:
Image – Australian Maritime Safety
HMAS Success will search over the area where an Australian P3 Orion picked up objects of interest on Monday, whilst in the air, the search goes on for more debris.
The search is becoming more urgent now after the announcement of the formal loss of MH370 and the reactions of the families who are seeking answers.
The hunt is a hard one – to quote Australian Air Marshal Mark Binskin, Deputy Defence Chief puts it best:
“We’re not searching for a needle in a haystack, We’re still trying to define where the haystack is.”
May the search yield results.
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