Aquatic searches are tricky and have huge challenges - the first golden 24 hours are key

Crucial timing: the search teams are preparing to comb through a remote and potentially large area for the submersible

- Jamie Pringle

THE more time that passes, the harder it will be to find the submersible. We talk about the “golden hours” in any search, and the first 24 are key. 

Statistically less than 10 per cent of people survive after 24 hours, whether it’s people missing at sea or in an earthquake or a flood.

On the positive side, we’re not talking about another MH370 here. The missing Malaysia Airlines plane’s transponder went off and the search teams had a scour such a huge area of the Indian Ocean. The plane went down in 2014 and it still hasn’t been solved.