MH370: Search Area Moved to '7th Arc' Where Plane 'Will be Found'

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https://sg.news.yahoo.com/malaysia-airlines-mh370-search-area-moved-7th-arc-154511423.html

The search for missing Malaysia Airlines MH370 has been moved to another area of the southern Indian Ocean dubbed "the 7th arc", after new analysis of satellite communications from the aircraft.

Australian officials confirmed the new target area after completing a search of the previous location with no sign of wreckage.

"The latest information and analysis confirms that MH370 will be found in close proximity to the arc," the Australian Transport Safety Bureau said in a statement quoted by USA Today.

The bureau stated that the plane is likely to have crashed within 60 miles of the arc, which sweeps across a huge area of the ocean. According to officials, the search will focus on a 17,500 sq m area.

The location of the 7th arc, in relation to the area already combed by a US underwater drone, is not clear. Bluefin-21, an autonomous mini-submarine, completed an unsuccessful search of the Indian Ocean seabed at the end of May, in the area originally believed to be the crash zone.

It was not immediately clear where the 7th arc, shown below on a map provided by the ATSB, lies in relation to the area already searched by a US Navy robotic submarine. The Bluefin 21 sub concluded its search of a section of the Indian Ocean floor, which investigators had believed was the most likely crash zone, at the end of May.

The plane, with 239 passengers and crew aboard, disappeared on 8 March en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.