Malaysian Ministry denies new MH370 search attempt

The Malaysian Ministry of Transport has denied agreeing to a new search mission for the missing wreckage of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370. There have been two official search missions to find the airplane, missing since 2014. The latest effort, carried out by a private company, ended in 2018.

The Malaysian Ministry of Transport states has not made any decision to relaunch a new search mission for the wreckage of Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777. In a written statement, dated February 10, 2020, the authority refuted claims allegedly made by news report that states otherwise.

“While the Ministry of Transport deeply empathizes with the family members of the victims and stands by them, the Ministry has not made any decision to relaunch any new searches as there has not been any new credible evidence to initiate such a process,” the statement reads.

The Malaysian authority also states it would review any new evidence if it officially received it. However, the decision to re-launch the search for MH370 would require consultation with China and Australia.

Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, disappeared from radar screens on March 8, 2014, less than an hour after takeoff. Since then, the question on how a Boeing 777 airliner with 227 passengers and 12 crew members on board disappeared without a trace, has become one the world’s greatest aviation mysteries.

Some debris of the missing Boeing 777 has been found spread on several coasts of different countries. But most of it, including the flight recorders known as black boxes, were never found.

Initial search in the Indian Ocean, by Malaysian, Australian and Chinese governments, came to no avail and was suspended in 2017. The following year, a private company Ocean Infinity carried out another search mission under the agreement with Malaysian government on a “no find, no pay” basis. The company used eight autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) for the task, but the mission ended in June 2018 without finding the missing MH370.

 

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