Bluefin-21 to search nearby areas if nothing found: JACC

If no contacts of interest are made, Bluefin-21 will continue to examine the areas adjacent to the 10 km radius of the focused underwater search area, the Joint Agency Coordination Center (JACC) said on Friday. [Special coverage]

The focused underwater search area is a circle of 10 km in radius around the second Towed Pinger Locator detection which occurred on April 8.

According to the latest update from the JACC, Bluefin-21 has now completed about 95 percent of the focused underwater search area with nothing found.

"We are currently consulting very closely with our international partners on the best way to effect this for the future," the JACC said Tuesday.

According to the JACC, this focused area is the best lead they have in relation to missing flight MH370 at this stage.

And material found on a beach in Western Australia's South West on Thursday was proved unrelated to the missing Malaysia Airlines aircraft.

The JACC said on Thursday that the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has advised that after examining detailed photographs of material washed 10 km east of Augusta, the bureau concluded it is not a lead in relation to the search for the missing flight MH370.

Western Australia police have issued a report of material washed ashore 10 km east of Augusta, south of Perth and have secured the material on Wednesday afternoon. The ATSB analyzed the picture of this material overnight. The bureau has also provided the photographs to the Malaysian investigation team.