British sub joins search for jetliner

A British submarine has joined the search for the missing Malaysian airliner in the southern Indian Ocean, a sign that authorities are gearing up to scour the seabed for the "black box" flight recorders even though no plane debris has been found.

The deployment of HMS Tireless bolsters a multinational search for the missing Boeing 777 that has so far relied on a combination of satellite and radar data to look for wreckage floating in an area of sea the size of Italy.

With time running out, authorities are calling for more help. The UK Ministry of Defense is sending HMS Echo, a military survey vessel that can map the depths of the ocean, to the search zone.

The Wall Street Journal

Passengers cleared of hijacking suspicion

Malaysian police have cleared the 227 passengers who were on board Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 of suspicion of hijacking, but the plane's crew, including its pilots, are still under investigation.

Malaysia's top police officer, Khalid Abu Bakar, said a three-week investigation has been inconclusive and investigators may never discover what caused the plane's disappearance.

"Give us more time," Khalid told Bernama, Malaysia's state news agency. "We may not even know the real cause of this incident."

Sydney Morning Herald

(China Daily USA 04/03/2014 page5)