扑朔迷离:印度在安达曼海上找什么

India has joined the multi-country Search for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, which went missing last weekend. The so-called 'Operation Search Light' has deployed Navy, Coast Guard and Air Force ships and aircraft to scour from the Andaman Sea to the Bay of Bengal.

印度加入了针对上周末失踪的马来西亚航空(Malaysia Airlines) MH370航班的多国搜救行动。印度在这项名为“探照灯”(Operation Search Light)的任务中部署了海军、海岸警卫队以及空军舰艇和飞机在安达曼海至孟加拉湾海域进行搜寻。

What are all of them looking for?

他们的搜寻目标是什么？

They'll likely be looking for things like the missing airline's seat cushions, life jackets, or potentially dead bodies which would float on the water, says Admiral Arun Prakash, former chief of the Naval Staff, and first Commander-in-Chief of the Andaman & Nicobar Command.

前印度海军总司令、印度三军安达曼-尼科巴小组(Andaman & Nicobar Command)第一总司令Admiral Arun Prakash称，可能的搜寻目标包括漂浮在海面的失踪客机的座椅垫、救生衣以及可能遇难乘客的尸体。

Admiral Prakash says that aircraft are supposed to have a beacon which transmits a signal, and can be used to find its location. But if there is no signal emanating from this aircraft, then the Indian search party is likely looking mainly for debris, he says. Rather than sophisticated equipment, the search vehicles are likely simply making a visual search with binoculars.

Admiral Prakash表示，失踪客机上应该有一个可以发射信号的信号灯，用来确定飞机的方位。他称，如果飞机没有发送信号，那么印度搜救队伍可能主要搜寻飞机碎片。搜寻工作中不会使用高级设备，搜寻人员将主要利用望远镜进行肉眼搜寻。

He says the effectiveness of this search will hinge on the accuracy of the area from where the search is starting, which is called 'search datum' in naval terminology. 'First question is, where should I start looking?' says Admiral Prakash.

Admiral Prakash称，这种搜寻的效果将取决于搜寻工作开始海域的准确度，用海军术语来说，就是“搜寻基点”(search datum)。他表示，第一个要问的问题是，从哪里开始搜寻？

He said the search team would take a compass and draw arcs around this search datum, and create expanding squares or expanding circles, to broaden the search area.

Admiral Prakash称，搜寻队伍会携带指南针，在搜寻基点周围画弧线，然后以正方形或圆形扩大面积，以此扩大搜寻区域。