Ships with complex sonar systems join MH370 search

[SYDNEY] The search for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 enters a new underwater phase this week almost seven months after the jet went missing, with two specialist ships to join the hunt.

MH370 disappeared en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8 with 239 people onboard and no trace of the Boeing 777-200 has been found despite a massive air, sea and underwater search.

The authorities have since used technical data to focus the search in the southern Indian Ocean far west of Western Australia along the thin, long arc from which the plane emitted its last satellite "handshake".