Transport Minister Anthony Loke announced on Friday that Malaysia intends to resume the search for the wreckage of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, more than a decade after its disappearance became one of aviation’s most enigmatic mysteries.
The minister also said the new search would cover a 15,000 square kilometre area in the southern Indian Ocean based on fresh data that Kuala Lumpur deemed “credible.”
“We hope everything will be OK this time,” Loke said, adding that the discovery of the wreckage would bring relief to the families of those on board.
The search was proposed by Ocean Infinity, a US-based seabed exploration company. The organisation had already searched for the plane in 2018, but they were inconclusive.
New evidence of MH370 crash found
According to Malaysian media, in March this year Ocean Infinity said it had found new evidence of where the plane may have crashed. The organisation proposed a new 15,000 square kilometre search area in the southern Indian Ocean. Loke said the Ministry of Transport had reviewed the new data provided by the company and found it a “solid lead.”
Malaysian authorities and Ocean Infinity are now discussing the terms of the contract, which is scheduled to last 18 months. According to Loke, Ocean Infinity will receive $70 million if the plane is found.
Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 Kuala Lumpur-Beijing disappeared from radar on March 8, 2014. It was carrying 227 passengers, including more than 150 Chinese nationals, and 12 crew members.
The plane last made contact about 40 minutes after its departure from the Malaysian capital. The captain switched off as the plane entered Vietnamese airspace. Military radar recorded that the plane veered off course and flew over northern Malaysia and the Andaman Sea before turning south and disappearing. Some wreckage of the aircraft washed up on the coast of Africa and islands in the Indian Ocean.
