(MENAFN- Qatar News Agency) rth April 17 - The sample of an oil slick detected by the Australian defence vessel Ocean Shield in the southern Indian Ocean where a search is going on for a missing Malaysian airliner has been brought here for analysis. The Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC) which is overseeing the search operation for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 that entered its 41st day Thursday said the results of the analysis would be announced once they were available. JACC chief coordinator Air Chief Marshal (Rtd) Angus Houston told a press conference that the oil slick was detected about 5500m within the vicinity of 'pings' previously detected by the towed pinger locator used by the Ocean Shield. Two litres of the oil slick were collected as the sample Malaysia's News (Bernama) reported. "Overnight Bluefin-21 AUV completed a full mission in the search area and is currently planning for its next mission" the statement said. Data collected from its two previous missions had found nothing so far. It was dispatched on its maiden mission from the Ocean Shield to a 40 sq km area to continue the search for MH370 underwater as no further confirmed signals were picked up by the towed pinger locator since April 8. The statement said up to 10 military aircraft two civil aircraft and 11 ships would be involved in Thursday's search operation. JACC said the Australian Maritime Safety Authority had planned a visual search area totalling about 40349 sq km lying about 2170 km northwest of Perth. Flight MH370 with 239 people aboard left the KL International Airport at 12.41 am on March 8 and disappeared from radar screens about an hour later while over the South China Sea. It was to have arrived in Beijing at 6.30 am on the same day. A multinational search was mounted for the Boeing 777-200 aircraft first in the South China Sea and then after it was learnt that the plane had veered off course in the southern Indian Ocean.
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