Malaysia may renew the search for missing aircraft MH370, 10 years after its disappearance

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – The Malaysian government said Sunday it may renew the search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 after a U.S. technology company proposed a new search in the southern Indian Ocean where the plane is believed to have crashed a decade ago.

Transportation Secretary Anthony Locke said Texas-based Ocean Infinity has proposed another “no fee” basis for surveying the seafloor, expanding from the site it first looked at in 2018. He said he invited the company to meet him to evaluate the new ships. Scientific evidence is needed to find the plane's final resting place.

He added that if the evidence is reliable, he will seek Cabinet approval to sign a new contract with Ocean Infinity to resume the search.

“The government is firm in its determination to locate aircraft MH370,” Luke said at a ceremony to mark the 10th anniversary of the plane’s disappearance. “We really hope that the search operation will be able to find the plane and bring the truth to the next of kin.”

The Boeing 777, which was carrying 239 people, most of them Chinese citizens, from the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, to Beijing, disappeared from radar shortly after take-off on March 8, 2014. Satellite data showed that the plane deviated from its flight path and was believed to be en route. To China. Crashed in the southern Indian Ocean.

But an expensive search by a multinational government failed to find any evidence, although several pieces of wreckage washed ashore on the coast of East Africa and islands in the Indian Ocean. A private search by Ocean Infinity in 2018 also found nothing, but the tragedy sparked moves to boost aviation safety.

Ocean Infinity initially planned to conduct a new search last year but was delayed by the delivery of its new fleet of ships and assets, said KS Nathan, a member of the Voice MH370 group of next of kin. He added that it is now on its way to resume fishing.

Loke declined to reveal Ocean Infinity's proposed fee if it finds the plane, because that is subject to negotiation. He said that the financial cost is not an issue and that he does not expect any obstacles to continuing the research if all goes well.

Luke's response prompted tears of joy from some family members at the event held at a mall in a Kuala Lumpur suburb.

“I'm on top of the world,” said Jacqueta Gomez, whose flight attendant husband was on the plane. She said she is grateful that she may now have a chance for complete closure and a final goodbye.

“We've been on a roller coaster for the last 10 years. If he's not found, I hope the search for him continues again,” she said.

“What happened is a true farce,” Sarah Pajk, whose boyfriend Philip Wood was on the plane, said in a statement. interview It aired Monday on NBC's “TODAY” show. “They owe it to the world, and their family members, to know what happened.”

Family members of passengers from Malaysia, Australia, China and India paid tribute to their loved ones during the event, lighting a candle on the stage in their memory.

“No matter whether it is for 10 years, 20 years or more, as long as we are still alive… we will not stop pressing for the truth. We believe,” said Bai Zhong, from China, whose wife was on the plane. “The truth will come out in the end.”