Topline
Malaysian authorities on Wednesday said a new search for Malaysia Airlines MH370 will begin later this month, marking the latest bid to find remains of the aircraft that mysteriously disappeared more than a decade ago and remains one of the biggest unresolved aviation disasters in history.
The disappearance of MH370 remains one of the biggest mysteries in aviation.
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Key Facts
The ministry said the search operations will be carried out by American marine robotics and deep ocean exploration company Ocean Infinity and will take 55 days, “conducted intermittently.”
The search will be conducted in an area of the ocean “assessed to have the highest probability of locating the aircraft,” as per an agreement between Ocean Infinity and the Malaysian government.
The ministry’s statement added that this development “underscores the Government of Malaysia’s commitment in providing closure to the families affected by this tragedy.”
A majority of the passengers on the flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing were Chinese nationals, and China’s Foreign Ministry on Wednesday said it appreciated the Malaysian government’s effort to carry out the new search.
Where Is The Search Area Located?
In December last year, the Malaysian government said it had “agreed in principle” on a proposal to allow Ocean Infinity to restart the search. The “no find, no fee” proposal was finalized in March. Under the terms of the deal, Ocean Infinity will receive a $70 million payout from the Malaysian government if substantial wreckage of MH370 is found. The search would focus on a 15,000 square kilometers-sized corridor in the southern Indian Ocean—the area where MH370 is widely believed to have crashed.