Missing plane rescue team asks companies to help

In lack of any substantial evidence regarding the Malaysian missing airplane, search teams are turning to private companies for help.

What they are asking for are specialized devices needed to reanalyze data regarding the search area, to conduct a more detailed and precise map of the sea bed and other unmanned submersibles as the Bluefin 21 is, currently, the only autonomous underwater vehicle searching for the plane wreck.

Australia has estimated that the costs for this new search mission phase will rise up to $60 million.

Although, so far, it isn't clear how the price of the entire operation will be split between the 26 countries involved in the search mission, for most of the 2-months long search each country had covered its own costs.

The new phase of the search mission will be presided by Australia, since it is closest to the presumed location of the plane wreck, followed by Malaysia, where the plane was from and China which had 100 passengers on board.

'Procurement arrangements for the use of commercial contractors will be undertaken by Australia, in consultation with Malaysia ,' Malaysian Transportation Minister, Hishammuddin Hussein, said Thursday.

Meanwhile, the Malaysian government has set up a better communication network so that passengers relatives, officials and others can receive information faster.

As for the actual search operation, this has been stopped today after two malfunction made the search quest impossible.

The Bluefin 21 submersible and the mother ship from which it is deployed have suffered damage this week while the vehicle was being hoisted onto the deck of the Ocean Shield Australian ship.

Any ongoing operations have been halted for a few days while spare parts to repair the equipment is being sent from Great Britain to Australia.