Malaysia agrees to resume search for missing MH370 plane

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 March 8, 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 December 13 "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 kilometres 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 finalised 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 the they 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."

He said the decision to agree to a fresh search "reflects the Malaysian government's commitment to continuing the search operation and providing closure to the families of the MH370 victims".

Following the plane's 2014 disappearance, an Australia-led search that covered 120,000 square kilometres (46,000 square miles) in the Indian Ocean found hardly any trace of the plane, with only some pieces of debris picked up.

The operation was suspended in January 2017, followed by the first Ocean Infinity search.

The plane's disappearance has long been the subject of theories -- ranging from the credible to outlandish -- including that veteran pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah had gone rogue.

A final report into the tragedy released in 2018 pointed to failings by air traffic control and said the course of the plane was changed manually.