Malaysia is to restart the search for the wreckage of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which disappeared 10 years ago in the southern Indian Ocean.
During a press conference held on December 20, 2024, Malaysia’s Transport Minister Anthony Loke announced that the country is discussing terms and conditions for the search with Ocean Infinity, a private marine robotics company. This company led the previous search for the aircraft in 2018.
A finalized contract, submitted in June 2024, would last for 18 months, and the company would receive $70 million if significant wreckage were to be discovered. However, the government will not pay if nothing is found.
The search will take place in a previously unchecked area of about 15,000 square kilometers off the coast of Western Australia, but the exact location of this area has not been specified.
“We hope this time will be positive, that the wreckage will be found and give closure to the families,” Loke said, adding that some families of the MH370 victims had been privately informed prior to the press conference.
Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 vanished on March 8, 2014. The aircraft, a Boeing 777, was traveling from Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL) to Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) with 227 passengers and 12 crew members onboard.
The aircraft lost contact with air traffic control less than an hour after takeoff while flying over the South China Sea and has yet to be found. All 227 passengers and 12 crew members are believed to have died.
Nearly a decade later, the disappearance of flight MH370 is still one of the biggest unsolved mysteries in aviation. It sparked a global search operation in Southeast Asia and the southern Indian Ocean, which lasted for three years. The search remains the most expensive in aviation history, costing over $160 million.
