Ocean Infinity to end MH370 search soon

Hanoi (VNA) – The US technology company Ocean Infinity has announced that it will soon end searches for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which was believed to have been lost in the Indian Ocean since 2014.

The Texas-based company has carried out three-month search in a massive swathe of seabed measuring 112,000 square kilometres, four times wider than the area where experts believe that the flight crashed.

Ocean Infinity chief executive Oliver Plunkett said that he is disappointed as no trace of the flight was found, but hopes to be able to resume it at some time in the future.

Last week, the Government led by newly-elected Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said that the company would end search activities on May 29 after two extensions of the original 90-day time limit.

Under a “no-find, no-fee basis” agreement was signed between Ocean Infinity and the Malaysian Government in January, 2018, the company will be paid 70 million USD if it can find the wreckage.

Malaysian Minister of Transport Anthony Loke said that a report on the missing of the MH370 will be released in the coming time, but not revealed exact time.

The Boeing 777 vanished on March 8, 2014 while flying from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Beijing, with 239 people on board.

A largest search in the history of aviation sector was conducted around 120,000 square kilometers in the Indian Ocean, led by Australia with the engagement of China and Malaysia. The campaign, which cost 159 million USD, was halted in January 2017 after almost three years. So far, no traces of the flight were discovered, either the reason behind the accident. -VNA