The Malaysian cabinet has approved a new search for the wreckage of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 more than a decade after the aircraft vanished. The search will cover a 15,000 square kilometer area in the southern Indian Ocean, conducted under a "no find, no fee" agreement with the exploration firm Ocean Infinity. The company will receive $70 million (£56 million) if the wreckage is found, as announced by Transport Minister Loke Siew Fook.
Flight MH370 disappeared in 2014 while traveling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, with 239 people on board. Its disappearance remains one of the world's greatest aviation mysteries, deeply affecting the families of the passengers.
Despite extensive searches over the years, no wreckage has been located. Previous efforts, including a multinational search that cost $150 million (£120 million), ended in 2017 without success. The governments of Malaysia, Australia, and China stated that the search would only resume if credible new evidence of the aircraft's location emerged. A 2018 search by Ocean Infinity, conducted under similar terms, also ended unsuccessfully after three months.
In December, the Malaysian government agreed in principle to resume the search, but final negotiations were not completed until March. The cabinet's approval on Wednesday has now cleared the way for the search to begin. Loke stated, "The government is committed to continuing the search operation and providing closure for the families of the MH370 passengers."
Flight MH370 took off from Kuala Lumpur in the early hours of March 8, 2014. Less than an hour after takeoff, the aircraft lost communication with air traffic control, and radar indicated that it deviated from its planned flight path. Investigators generally agree that the plane crashed somewhere in the southern Indian Ocean, although the cause of the crash remains unclear. Over the years, pieces of debris believed to be from the plane have washed up on the shores of the Indian Ocean.
Li Eryou, who lost his 29-year-old son in the incident, has expressed frustration regarding Malaysia's communication with families. The aircraft's disappearance has sparked numerous conspiracy theories, including speculation that the pilot intentionally brought the plane down and claims that it was shot down by a foreign military. An investigation in 2018 concluded that the plane's controls were likely manipulated to take it off course, but no definitive explanations were found. The investigators stated that "the answer can only be conclusive if the wreckage is found."
The passengers included individuals from over a dozen countries, with just under two-thirds being Chinese nationals, followed by 38 Malaysians, and others from Australia, Indonesia, India, France, Ukraine, the US, and several other nations. Family members of missing Chinese passengers from flight MH370 met with officials in Beijing earlier in March to discuss the renewed search and express their hopes for an independent investigation. Some relatives voiced their frustration over a lack of direct communication from Malaysian authorities. "We were promised that we would be informed immediately, but we can only find out about this kind of news online," said Li Eryou, a 68-year-old father who lost his son. He added, "Many families don't even know how to access this information, so they are completely unaware."
Grieving families gathered outside the Malaysian embassy in Beijing on the eleventh anniversary of the flight's disappearance earlier this month, chanting, "Give us back our loved ones!" Cheng Liping, whose husband was in Malaysia for a film shoot and was returning to China on flight MH370, expressed hope that Beijing would communicate more with Malaysia to uncover the truth. "Everyone has been left trapped in pain," she told reporters. "What exactly happened is still unknown." The announcement of the fresh search elicited mixed reactions from the families of passengers, with some viewing it as a step towards closure, while others described their feelings as bittersweet.
