26/04/2014 09:30
MH370: Narrowed underwater search nears end as officials plan next steps
The Bluefin-21's initial search is nearing its end. As the underwater sonar device plunged into the Indian Ocean, kicking off its 14th mission, authorities are focusing on what they will do if it comes up empty. That outcome would seem likely, according to CNN.
The Bluefin has slowly scoured 95% of the ocean floor that searchers had narrowed down for it. So far, it has found no trace of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.
Anticipation is growing as this phase of the search nears its end, but experts say factors like the depth and terrain of the search area mean that the mission's completion could be a day to weeks away.
If nothing is found, the first step, Australian officials said, may be to expand the search area where the submersible was looking.
The underwater search so far has focused on a circle with a 10-kilometer (6.2-mile) radius around the location of a detected "ping," the Joint Agency Coordination Center said.
If the Bluefin-21 searches 100% of the area with nothing to show for it, the underwater search may expand to outside that radius.
"We are currently consulting very closely with our international partners on the best way to continue the search into the future," the Australian-based center coordinating the search said in a statement.
Forty-nine days since the plane vanished, Malaysian and Australian authorities are mapping out a strategy for a long-term search that could expand to cover a massive area.
A U.S. Navy source told CNN on Friday that the current search area is expected to move slightly north if the Bluefin doesn't find any wreckage. Specifically, it might shift to encompass a 6-mile radius around where another "ping" was detected.