Malaysia’s transport minister Anthony Loke proposes to launch a fresh search for the Malaysian Airlines flight MH370, which disappeared with 239 people aboard in March 2014.
Addressing a memorial event organised at a mall in Subang Jaya, a Kuala Lumpur suburb, by the families of those who disappeared with the plane 10 years ago, Loke said that money was not an issue, and that “the government is steadfast in our resolve to locate MH370. We really hope the search can find the plane and provide truth to the next-of-kin.”
A massive search, often described as the largest in aviation history, failed to find the Boeing 777 aircraft flying from Beijing to Kuala Lumpur with 227 passengers and a dozen Malaysian crew members, which vanished from radar on March 8, 2014.
The family members of passengers, who lit 239 candles in memory of all those aboard the plane, cheered as Loke announced that Ocean Infinity, a US seabed exploration firm, had offered to scour the ocean floor again on a “no find, no fee” basis. “We are now waiting for them to provide suitable dates and I hope to meet them soon,” the minister said.
An similar search by the company in 2018, as well as an earlier search led by Malaysia, China and Australia in early 2017 failed to yield any trace of the aircraft, although pieces of debris suspected to be from the aircraft have washed up on shores of Mozambique, Reunion Island, South Africa, Mauritius, Tanzania and other places.
The mysterious disappearance sparked various theories, which ranged from a botched hijack attempt, mechanical failure, a missile hit, or even pilot suicide. But until the plane and its black box is found, they will remain just theories.
