Heavy seas and bad weather are hampering efforts to map the ocean where investigators believe missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 disappeared, Australian officials said Wednesday. An international team is conducting a bathymetric survey of the floor of the southern Indian Ocean in order to help the underwater search for the Boeing 777. However, conditions are hampering the preparatory work, the Australian Transportation Safety Bureau announced in an update.
“Heavy sea conditions have affected the progress of the survey in recent weeks, leading to some re-sounding work to fill gaps in the data,” the ATSB said. The Chinese survey vessel Zhu Kezhen has suspended survey operations since Sept. 6 in order to avoid poor weather, it added. The jet disappeared on March 8 while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board.
IN-DEPTH
- Missing Jet Girlfriend: ‘Something Is Being Covered Up’
- Six Months Later, Still No Sign of Missing Plane
- New Clue: MH370 Phone Call May Reveal Jet’s Final Path