The Malaysian government has expressed its support for a new search proposal for flight MH370 which disappeared ten years ago this week.
The Malaysia Airlines flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing disappeared mid-flight with 239 people on board, including six Australians, on March 8, 2014.
Despite extensive multinational searches in the southern Indian Ocean, where the plane is believed to have crashed, the plane disappeared without a trace and the families of the victims remain desperate for answers.
US marine robotics company Ocean Infinity has announced its proposal for a 15,000 square kilometer search in the southern Indian Ocean, off the coast of Australia.
Malaysia’s Transport Minister Anthony Loke said he was considering the proposal, which was based on the principle that “if nothing is found, nothing is charged”.
“As far as the Malaysian government is concerned, we are committed to justice and the search must continue,” he said Sunday at a ten-year commemoration ceremony in Kuala Lumpur, where loved ones of the victims gathered.
The Malaysian government has thrown its support behind a new proposed search for flight MH370 that disappeared ten years ago this week (pictured, loved ones of the victims at a memorial service in Malaysia)
‘The government is firm in its determination to locate MH370. “We really hope that the search can find the plane and provide the truth to the relatives.”
Loke said he had invited Ocean Infinity to further discuss the plan and costs should the search mission be successful.
As part of the discussions, new scientific evidence about where the plane may have ended up will be evaluated.
He hopes the Malaysian cabinet can approve the proposal in the coming weeks.
Loke added that the Australian government would be asked for cooperation once Ocean Infinity had finalized its proposal.
The last official search for the plane was in 2018 by Ocean Infinity, which did not shed any light on what may have happened to the plane or its passengers.
Details about the company’s latest search proposal have not yet been revealed.
Despite extensive multinational searches in the southern Indian Ocean, where the plane is believed to have crashed, the plane disappeared without a trace and the victims’ families remain desperate for answers (police are seen carrying wreckage from a plane unidentified found in the French Indian Ocean in 2015)
Loved ones of the victims are seen sharing heartfelt messages on the 10th anniversary of the disappearance of flight MH370.
About 500 relatives of victims lost on Flight MH370 gathered at a shopping center in the Malaysian city of Subang Jaya on Sunday for the service.
Many were seen crying and comforting each other, while candles were also lit in honor of the victims.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) conducted an underwater search for the plane in the southern Indian Ocean from May 2014 until the operation was suspended in January 2017.
Nearly a decade later, the wreckage of MH370 has still not been found, even though its disappearance sparked the largest multinational air and sea search ever undertaken.
About 500 relatives of victims lost on Flight MH370 gathered at a shopping center in the Malaysian city of Subang Jaya on Sunday for the service.
The flight from Kuala Lumpur was destined for Beijing and carried passengers from 14 different countries.
40 minutes into what was supposed to be a routine flight, MH370 crossed from Malaysia into Vietnamese airspace.
It was at that moment that the passenger plane disappeared from civilian radars and the captain’s now infamous last words were heard.
‘Good evening, Malaysia 370.’
The plane’s disappearance has spawned countless theories about what may have happened, including one that it was a murder-suicide by the pilot.
The flight from Kuala Lumpur was destined for Beijing and carried passengers from 14 different countries.
