Towfish Snags on Volcano in MH370 Search

On Sunday, the Fugro Discovery lost a sonar towfish while searching for the missing airplane MH370 in the Southern Indian Ocean.

The towfish collided with a mud volcano rising 2,200 meters (7,200 feet) from the seafloor resulting in the vehicle's tow cable breaking. The towfish and 4,500 meters (2.8 miles) of cable became separated from the vessel and are now resting on the sea floor.

There were no injuries to crew and it is believed it will be possible to recover the towfish at a later date.

Fugro Discovery has commenced its return to Fremantle where a replacement cable will be installed on the vessel. During the journey, the spare towfish on board Fugro Discovery will be readied for future search activities.

The only debris found so far that has been confirmed to have come from the plane is a flaperon that was washed up on a beach in Reunion last July.

The Boeing 777 went missing between Kuala Lumpur and Beijing in March 2014 with 239 people on board.