Underwater vehicle to scan ocean floor in MH370 probe

[SYDNEY] Investigators hunting for the missing Malaysia Airlines jet will deploy an underwater vehicle to scan the ocean floor as the absence of new signals suggests that the black boxes have run out of power.

Australian ship Ocean Shield will send the Bluefin-21 to search in the area where the pings were heard, Angus Houston, who heads Australia's Joint Agency Coordination Centre, said in Perth yesterday. The boat will stop using the towed pinger locator and instead rely on the submersible to find debris as the search for Flight MH370 stretches into the 38th day.

Scouring the ocean surface for debris with planes and ships will be called off in two to three days as the chance of any floating material being recovered has "greatly diminished", Mr Houston said. An oil slick has also been found in the same area and will be analysed.