Tropical cyclone threatens to impede search

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A tropical cyclone threatened to hamper the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 in a remote stretch of the Indian Ocean on Monday, as a submarine drone neared the end of its mission scouring the seabed with still no sign of wreckage.

The Australia-led multinational search for MH370, which vanished on March 8 with 239 people onboard, narrowed to a 10-square-kilometer patch of sea floor about 2,000 km west of the Australian city of Perth, Reuters reported.

Search authorities and the Australian and Malaysian governments had said a series of sonar signals, or "pings", traced to the area may have emanated from the plane's black box data recorders and presented the most credible lead.

But no pings have been detected in almost two weeks and authorities now fear that, with the flight recorder's battery several weeks past its expected expiration date, the black boxes may not emit further signals.

A US Navy remote-controlled submarine, the Bluefin-21, was on its ninth mission, scanning the largely unmapped stretch of seabed where the pings are believed to have come from, Australian search officials said on Monday.

"Bluefin-21 has searched approximately two-thirds of the focused underwater search area to date. No contacts of interest have been found to date," the Joint Agency Coordination Center said in a statement.

The center said that the search, which has so far been largely unimpeded by weather, may be affected as Tropical Cyclone Jack continued to move south over the ocean.

On Saturday, the center said the Bluefin-21 was expected to complete its search of the targeted area within a week.

Search coordinator Angus Houston also said on April 14 that an air and surface search for debris would end within three days.

But the daily sorties have continued unabated, in a search involving some two-dozen nations and estimated to be the most expensive in aviation history.

Questions:

1. What is the name of the tropical cycle threatening the search for the missing plane?

2. What is the name of the US Navy’s remote controlled submarine involved in the search?

3. Who is the search coordinator?

Answers:

1. Jack.

2. Bluefin-21.

3. Angus Houston.

About the broadcaster:

Anne Ruisi is an editor at China Daily online with more than 30 years of experience as a newspaper editor and reporter. She has worked at newspapers in the U.S., including The Birmingham News in Alabama and City Newspaper of Rochester, N.Y.