Malaysia may begin a renewed search for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, the transport minister has said, as the 10th anniversary of its disappearance approaches.
“The Malaysian government is committed to the search, and the search must go on,” Malaysian Transport Minister Anthony Loke said at a remembrance event on Sunday commemorating the vanishing of the Boeing 777 plane on March 8, 2014.
That day, the flight carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew disappeared en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, one of the biggest aviation-related mysteries in history.
Loke said United States seabed exploration firm Ocean Infinity had offered up its latest search proposal after two previous failed attempts at finding the plane.
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The transport minister is hoping to engage with Australia in cooperating in the search once Ocean Infinity’s “no find, no fee” proposal is approved by Malaysia’s cabinet.
Ocean Infinity had last attempted to find the missing plane in 2018, with Malaysia having offered up to $70m if the firm had found it.
In 2017, Malaysia, China and Australia also ended a two-year underwater hunt that cost $200 million Australian dollars ($130.7m US) and that was ultimately fruitless.
VPR Nathan, whose wife Anne Daisy was on the flight, said Ocean Infinity’s proposal was welcomed.
“We want the search to carry on, but we also have to be realistic. We cannot expect the government to spend billions [on the search],” Nathan said.
Jacquita Gomes, whose flight attendant husband was on the plane, was also elated about the news.
“I’m on top of the world,” she said. “We have been on a roller coaster for the last 10 years … If it is not found, I hope that it will continue with another search.”
Jiang Hui, a Chinese national whose mother was on the missing plane, called on Malaysia to provide relatives with the latest information.
“As long as there is communication, we can avoid misunderstanding,” said Jiang, who is part of a lawsuit filed in China demanding compensation over the incident, for which hearings began in November.
A family member of the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 reacts during a remembrance event marking the 10th anniversary of its disappearance.
“No matter if it is 10 years, 20 years or more, as long as we are still alive … we will not cease to press for the truth. We believe the truth will eventually come to light,” said Bai Zhong, another Chinese national, whose wife was on the plane.
When the plane first disappeared, Malaysian investigators did not rule out the possibility that the aircraft was deliberately taken off course.
A 2018 report found failings by air traffic control and said the course of the plane was changed manually.
Some debris from the plane has washed up along the coast of Africa and on islands in the Indian Ocean.
Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies.
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