Minister claims 'miracles happen' over MH370

Malaysia's transport minister says he believes "miracles do happen" and claims he cannot rule out that some of the passengers on board missing flight MH370 are still alive.

Hishammudin Hussein's statement came as it was revealed underwater sounds detected by a ship in the search for the missing Malaysian Airlines flight were consistent with aircraft black box pings.

"I have always said to the families miracles do happen," he told reporters in Kuala Lumpur overnight.

While the minister said satellite information did not offer any signs of life, "we continue to hope and pray for survivors ... we are just hoping against hope".

"We have been through a real rollercoaster ride on some of the leads we have received. I am more optimistic about this one," he added.

The news of underwater sounds has brought fresh hope after a month of fruitless searches.

But Angus Houston, the head of a joint agency co-ordinating the search mission, said it could be days before they can confirm if the signals picked up by the Australian navy ship are from the black boxes belonging to the Malaysian Airlines flight.

"Clearly this is a most promising lead, and probably in the search so far, it's probably the best information that we have had," Mr Houston said.

"We've got a visual indication on a screen and we've also got an audible signal — and the audible signal sounds to me just like an emergency locator beacon."

The beacons' batteries last about a month and today marks one month since the plane disappeared on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

Source: MailOnline
Author: Emily Crane, Approving editor: Erin Tennant