KUALA LUMPUR: The search for the black box belonging to the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (Maritime Malaysia) helicopter that made an emergency landing in the waters of Pulau Angsa, Selangor on March 5 is still ongoing.
MMEA director-general Admiral Datuk Hamid Mohd Amin said the search is focusing on the area within a radius of 50 to 100 meters where the black box is believed to be located, based on signals they received.
This is the second phase of the search mission after the end of the first phase which was conducted from March 6 until March 24.
"Based on information obtained from the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) National Hydrographic Centre (NHC), the black box is believed to be located around 700-800 meters from the area where the helicopter made its emergency landing," he said in a statement.
He said 21 MMEA divers were involved in the search. However they are facing difficulties in locating the black box due to strong currents at the seabed and limited visibility due to muddy seabed conditions.
"Maritime Malaysia remains optimistic about locating the black box based on the current location where the black box is believed to be," he said.
Apart from the MMEA divers, the search mission also involves sonar crew from NHC, the Air Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) and the aircraft service provider for Maritime Malaysia, Galaxy (M) Sdn Bhd.
The first phase of the search mission focused on an area with a radius of approximately 1 kilometre around the area where the helicopter made its emergency landing.
Previously, it was reported that the MMEA helicopter was on a rescue exercise before it made an emergency landing off the coast of Kuala Selangor.
Four crew were onboard, all escaped unhurt.
