‘Pulse Signal’ Detected in Search for Missing Jet

Updated 2:30 p.m. ET

A Chinese patrol ship searching for the missing Malaysia airlines jet in the Indian Ocean detected a pulse radio signal at the frequency of a black box Saturday, but has been unable to determine with certainty whether the pulse belongs to Flight MH370.

The frequency detected, 37.5 kHz per second, is the international standard frequency for the locator beacon on the plane’s black box, Reuters reports.

Australian authorities said that the radio pings China reported “are consistent with the aircraft black box,” but said there was no confirmation they were related to missing Malaysian Airlines Flight 370.

The search for the missing airliner has become increasingly desperate as the batteries in the flight and voice recorders are due to run out early next week. The electronic “pings” sounded by such boxes could be crucial in finding the missing jet deep under the ocean.

Malaysia vowed to continue the search to find the missing jetliner as a multinational team including 13 military and civilian planes and 11 ships scoured a remote area of the Indian Ocean Saturday, the Associated Press reports.

“I can only speak for Malaysia, and Malaysia will not stop looking for MH370,” Hishammuddin Hussein, Malaysia’s defense minister and acting transport minister said.

The missing Boeing 777 disappeared March 8 while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, with 239 people aboard. The circumstances of the disappearance remain a mystery.

[AP]