Missing flight MH370: Canberra talks map out search plan

Officials from Australia, Malaysia and China have met to map out a way forward in the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane, the BBC reported. 

Transport ministers from Malaysia and China joined the Australian deputy leader and Angus Houston, the official leading the search, at the talks in Canberra.

So far, an intensive search operation has found no sign of flight MH370.

The next stage is set to involve a long search of a large area of ocean floor.

The plane went missing on 8 March as it flew from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, with 239 people on board.

It lost contact with air traffic controllers over the South China Sea. Officials now believe, based on satellite data, that it ended its journey in the sea far west of the Australian city of Perth.

It is not yet known what caused the plane to fly so far off course. Finding its "black box" flight recorders is seen as key to understanding what happened.

Speaking in Canberra, Australian Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss said new sonar and submersible equipment would be needed.

"It's possible that some of it may be owned by navies or governments around the world, but it's likely that the majority will have to be provided from the private sector," he said.

He said the plan was to call for bids for a single operator to lead the search in its new phase.

He said he was optimistic that this could be done "in the space of one to two months", and said that in the interim the Bluefin-21 robotic submersible would continue working.