Japan, US Navy join China to search MH370

Japan and the US Navy have joined China in search for the missing Malaysian aero plane on Monday. The US Navy said on Monday it was sending a black box locator to an area of the southern Indian Ocean being scoured for the missing Malaysian jet, following a cluster of weekend debris sightings. The navy called the move a “precautionary measure” in case those sightings confirm the location of the Boeing 777/200ER. “If a debris field is confirmed, The Navy’s Towed Pinger Locator 25 will add a significant advantage in locating the missing aircraft’s black box,” Commander William Marks, a spokesman for the US Seventh Fleet, said in an e-mailed statement. Japan also joined China to search the debris in the southern Indian Ocean sighted by a Chinese satellite. Ten planes were set to scour the area for possible debris picked up earlier by radar echoes and satellite imagery. Two Chinese military planes have flown out to the search area, around 2,500 km (1,550 miles) south-west of Australian city Perth, while two Japanese P-3 Orion aircraft will set off later on Monday. They will join six other planes, including US and Australian military planes, to search a 68,500 sq km (26,000 sq miles) area in the ocean. An Australian navy ship is already in the area, while several Chinese ships are also on their way. However, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, which is co-ordinating search efforts in the south, said on Monday: “The weather forecast in the search area is expected to deteriorate, with rain likely.” The MH370 Flight vanished from the radar screen somewhere on Malaysia-Vietnam border on 8 March while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, with 239 people, mostly Chinese, on board, according to news agencies.