Malaysia agrees to resume search for missing MH370 wreckage after 10 years
A woman walks past graffiti of the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 in Kuala Lumpur (Source: Getty)
Malaysia has agreed in principle to resume the search for the wreckage of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, Transport Minister Anthony Loke announced on Friday.
The decision comes more than a decade after the Boeing 777, carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew members, vanished en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014.
Loke confirmed that the proposal to explore a new area in the southern Indian Ocean was made by Ocean Infinity, the exploration firm that conducted the previous search efforts.
The attempts, which ended in 2018, did not result in finding the plane. The firm will receive $70 million if the wreckage is found and deemed substantial.
“Our responsibility and obligation and commitment is to the next of kin,” Loke said, expressing hope that this renewed search would bring closure to the families of the missing passengers.
The disappearance of Flight MH370 remains one of the world’s greatest aviation mysteries, with initial investigations suggesting the possibility that the aircraft may have been deliberately diverted. Debris confirmed to be from the plane has been found along the coast of Africa and on islands in the Indian Ocean.
Among the passengers, more than 150 were Chinese nationals, whose relatives have been demanding compensation from Malaysia Airlines, Boeing, Rolls-Royce, and Allianz.
The previous search, conducted by Malaysia, Australia, and China in a 120,000 square kilometer area, was based on satellite data from Inmarsat showing automatic connections between the plane and the satellite.
