MH370 search: signals detected by Chinese ship consistent with aircraft black box, says Australia

Perth, Australia: The Australian-led joint agency coordinating the search for the missing Malaysian jetliner says electronic pulse signals reportedly detected by a Chinese ship in the southern Indian Ocean are consistent with those of an aircraft black box.

However, Australian Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston said early Sunday that the agency cannot verify any connection between the signals and Malaysian Airlines Flight 370.

China's Xinhua News Agency reported Saturday that a black box detector deployed by the ship, Haixun 01, picked up a signal at 37.5 kilohertz (cycles per second), the same frequency emitted by flight data recorders. Xinhua also said a Chinese search plane spotted numerous white floating objects about 90 kilometers (56 miles) away.

Houston says the joint agency has no confirmation the floating objects are related to the missing aircraft.