Bluefin ends first mission in flight hunt prematurely

30 percent of initial search area covered, but nothing is found

The autonomous underwater device Bluefin-21, which was deployed on Monday for its first search mission for MH370, faced unexpected depths and ended its mission prematurely, US navy Captain Mark Matthews said on Tuesday.

Matthews said the Bluefin was launched at 5:20 pm (0920 GMT) and was recovered at 1 am (1700 GMT) on Tuesday, Xinhua News Agency quoted him as saying.