Malaysia Green Lights New Search for Remains in the Indian Ocean

The Malaysian cabinet approved a new search of the remains of MH370 of Malaysia Airlines, more than a decade after the aircraft disappeared.

The demand will cover an area of ​​15,000 square km in the South Indian Ocean, according to the agreement “No Finds, No Fee” with the Ocean Infinity exploratory company.

The company will receive $ 70 million (£ 56 million) if the remains are found, Transport Minister Locke Fok announced.

The MH370 flight disappeared in 2014 with 239 people on board while traveling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Its disappearance is one of the largest aviation mysteries in the world that continues to pursue passenger families.

Despite the extensive searches over the years since it disappeared, no remains have been found. Previous efforts, including multinational demand, which cost $ 150 million (£ 120 million), ended in 2017.

The governments of the three participating nations – Malaysia, Australia and China – said the search would only be resumed “reliable new evidence” must appear from the location of the aircraft.

The search for the remains in 2018 from Ocean Infinity under similar conditions ended unsuccessfully after three months.

In December, the Malaysia Government Generally agreed to resume the searchS However, the final negotiations were completed by March.

Malaysia’s final approval on Wednesday will now allow the search to begin.

Loke said in a statement: “The government is committed to continuing the search operation and to provide the closure of the MH370 passengers.”

The MH370 flight took off from Kuala Lumpur in the early hours of March 8, 2014. Less than an hour after the departure, he lost communication with the control of the air traffic, and the radar showed that he had deviated from the planned flight.

Investigators usually agree that the plane crashed somewhere in the Southern Indian Ocean, although the cause of the crash remains unclear.

Pieces of debris, which are thought to be on the plane, have been washed on the Indian Ocean shore over the years after its disappearance.

The disappearance of the aircraft gave rise to numerous theories of conspiracy, including speculation that the pilot deliberately removed the plane and claimed to have been removed from a foreign military.

Investigation in 2018 about the disappearance of the aircraft found that the aircraft controls were probably deliberately manipulated to overthrow it, but made no conclusions behind it.

Investigators said at the time that “the answer could only be adamant if the remains were found.”

Passengers included people from more than a dozen countries: just under two -thirds were Chinese citizens, followed by 38 Malaysians, with others from Australia, Indonesia, India, France, Ukraine, USA and several other countries.

The family members of the missing Chinese passengers MH370 met with officials in Beijing earlier in March to discuss the updated demand for remains and express their hopes for independent demand. Some relatives have expressed their disappointment with a lack of direct communication by the Malaysian authorities.

“It was promised that we would be informed immediately (but) we can only find out about this type of news online,” Li says Erio, a 68-year-old father who lost his 29-year-old son.

“Many families do not even know how to have access to this information, so they are not fully aware,” he told AFP.

The grieving families gathered outside the Malaysian Embassy in Beijing on the eleventh anniversary of the disappearance of the flight earlier this month, chanting: “Return our loved ones!”

Chen Liping, whose husband was in Malaysia for a movie photo and returned to China on the MH370, said he hoped Beijing would communicate more with Malaysia to reveal the truth.

“Everyone is left in a trap of pain,” she told reporters. “What exactly happened is not yet known.”

The search caused mixed reactions from passenger families when it was announced in December – some call it a step towards closing, while others describe the news as bitter.