MH370: Search vessel sinks after crashing into underwater volcano

A search vessel looking for the remains of the MH370 Malaysia Airlines flight has sunk in the Indian Ocean after it collided with an underwater volcano.

The vessel, a towfish or deepwater detector, is thought to have come into contact with a mud volcano 2.2km under the surface of the water.

See also: MH370 'Second part' of plane found on Reunion

Flight MH370 went missing nearly two years ago on 8 March 2014, the flight was travelling between Kuala Lumpur and Beijing at the time of the incident.

So far the only part of the plane to be found is part of a wing which was found on Reunion Island in July last year.

See also: MH370 Searchers thought ancient shipwreck was missing plane

An official statement from JACC (Joint Ageny Coordination Centre) says: "Yesterday, while conducting search activities in the southern Indian Ocean, Fugro Discovery lost the sonar vehicle deep tow (towfish) being used to search the ocean floor."

According to the International Business Times, the Fugro Discovery boat was using the search implement when it sunk.

The official statement added: "The towfish collided with a mud volcano which rises 2,200 metres from the seafloor resulting in the vehicle's tow cable breaking. The towfish and 4,500 metres of cable became separated from the vessel and are now resting on the sea floor."

You can see the full statement released this morning by the JACC online here.

The JACC was established in March 2014 by Tony Abbott, the aim was to coordinate the search efforts of the Australian government even though the Malaysian Government has overall responsibility for the search.

Since the towfish sank it has been announced that the Fugro Discovery will return to Fremantle, Western Australia where it will receive a replacement cable, it is expected to arrive there on 30 January.

The disappearance of flight MH370 was the first of two incidents that hit Malaysian Airlines in 2014, the second being when flight MH17 which was flying between Amsterdam and Kuala Lumpur crash in July of the same year.

The plane was shot down over Donetsk in the Ukraine killing all 238 passengers and 15 crew members.