CAIRO — Authorities are closer to finding the black boxes from the EgyptAir plane crash after signals from one of the recorders was detected last week, Reuters reported.

The search area for the devices has been reduced from 5 kilometers to 2 kilometers as a result.

Investigators are searching for the flight recorders some 290 kilometres north of the Egyptian coast, near the Herodotus Plain in the Mediterranean Sea, according to an AFP report published on the Local.Fr. The flight recorders are believed to have sunk as deep as 3,000 metres.

Two French companies Alseamar and Deep Ocean Search have joined the search using their products: DETECTOR-6000 and specialist vessel John Lethbridge.

Alseamar’s DETECTOR-6000 can be deployed from various platforms such as ships and helicopters. It can detect flight recorder pings up to 5,000 metres below sea level and can isolate natural sounds from pings.

The John Lethbridge is equipped with sonar and a remotely operated vehicle capable of operating up to 6,000 metres under sea level. The ROV, called Comanche, can create 3D images of the sea floor and has extended mechanical arms that can lift objects up to 200 kg.

Investigators are trying to locate the flight recorders as quickly as possible because the devices only contain enough power to emit signals for around 30 days.