Malaysia’s MH370: 9 years on, families urge new search for missing plane
- Flight MH370 became one of world’s biggest aviation mysteries when it disappeared on route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014
- Relatives of passengers say seabed exploration firm Ocean Infinity hopes to embark on a new search as early as this summer
Families of those on board Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which disappeared mysteriously nine years ago, called on the Malaysian government on Sunday to allow US seabed exploration firm Ocean Infinity to mount a new search for the missing plane.
The fate of flight MH370 became one of the world’s greatest aviation mysteries when it disappeared on route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014.
In 2018, Malaysia engaged Ocean Infinity to search for the aircraft in the southern Indian Ocean, offering to pay up to US$70 million if it found the plane. But its operation came up short.
The firm’s search came after Malaysia, China and Australia ended a fruitless two-year, A$200 million (US$135.36 million) underwater hunt in January 2017 after finding no trace of the plane.
On Sunday, Voice370 – a group of relatives of those on board the plane – said Ocean Infinity hoped to embark on a new search as early as this summer and urged the Malaysian government to accept any proposals from the firm on a conditional fee basis, such that the firm would only be paid if successful.
“Ocean Infinity, over the last 12 months have made real progress working with many people to further understand … the events in 2014,” Voice370 said in a statement, following a memorial event to mark the ninth year since MH370’s disappearance.
