KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) — Malaysia’s cabinet has agreed to a proposal to launch a new search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which disappeared mysteriously 10 years ago, the transport minister said Friday.
The Boeing 777 carrying 239 people disappeared from radar screens on 8 March 2014 while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, and despite the largest search in aviation history, the plane has never been found.
Transport Minister Anthony Loke said the government on 13 December “agreed in principle to accept the proposal from Ocean Infinity,” a company based in the United States and the United Kingdom, to proceed with the search “in a new area estimated at 15,000 square kilometers in the southern Indian Ocean.”
“The proposal for a search operation by Ocean Infinity is a solid one and deserves to be considered,” Loke told reporters.
He said the Ministry of Transport is currently negotiating the terms of the agreement, which is expected to be finalized by early 2025.
The new search will be on a “no find, no fee” principle, in which the Malaysian government will not pay Ocean Infinity anything if they don’t find the aircraft, Loke added.
The government had previously engaged Ocean Infinity in 2018 to search for the plane but there were no result.
“The new search area proposed by Ocean Infinity is based on the latest information and data analysis conducted by experts and researchers,” Loke said.
“The company’s proposal is considered credible and worth further evaluation by the Malaysian government as the state of registration for MH370.”