Update | Time fast running out in search for MH370 black box
Race is on to detect 'pings' from data recorder before batteries die
The clock is ticking in the hunt for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane as the only equipment that can detect the so-called black box will have less than two weeks to locate the device that holds instrumental information on what happened to the 239 passengers and crew members on board.
Officials said yesterday that once the two-week window - by the most optimistic estimate, as the black-box battery might fall silent earlier - closes, the search will enter a much more difficult phase.
It will take years to trawl the ocean floor before the flight data recorder can be located.
The Towed Pinger Locator 25, a hi-tech underwater device supplied by the US Navy that can detect the sounds, or pings, emitted by black boxes, was being installed yesterday on the Australian naval ship ADV Ocean Shield and is expected to arrive in the search area on Thursday at the earliest.
Watch: What is a black box?
The Chinese vessel Haixun 01, which is already in the search area, is also equipped with a searching device, Xinhua has reported.