Texas-based Ocean Infinity has proposed another “no-find, no-cost” search to try to locate Flight MH370 in the southern Indian Ocean. A Malaysian Airlines plane went missing in 2014.
An American technology company has offered to search for a Malaysia Airlines plane that went missing 10 years ago “without discovery, free of charge.”
The proposal comes as the Malaysian government announced on Sunday that it may restart the search for Flight MH370. Transportation Secretary Anthony Roque announced new “no-find, no-fee” standards for Texas-based Ocean Infinity to search the southern Indian Ocean seafloor, expanding from where it first searched in 2018. He said he proposed.
He said he had invited the company for a meeting to assess new scientific evidence it has about finding the plane’s final resting place. He said if the evidence was reliable, he would seek Cabinet approval to sign a new contract with Ocean Infinity to restart the search.
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“The government remains steadfast in our resolve to locate MH370,” Mr Rourke said at a memorial event to mark the 10th anniversary of the plane’s disappearance. “We sincerely hope that the search will find the plane and provide the next of kin with the truth.”
On March 8, 2014, a Boeing 777 plane carrying 239 people, most of them Chinese, disappeared from radar shortly after takeoff from Malaysia’s capital Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Satellite data showed the plane veered from its flight path and crashed in the southern Indian Ocean.
But an expensive search by multinational governments yielded no clues, although some debris washed ashore on the East African coast and on islands in the Indian Ocean. A 2018 civilian search by Ocean Infinity turned up nothing, except that the tragedy sparked a movement to strengthen aviation safety.
KS Nathan, a member of the Boyce MH370 group of next of kin, said Ocean Infinity had originally planned a new search last year, but the delivery of new vessels and assets delayed it. He is currently on track to resume hunting.
Rourke declined to say what fee Ocean Infinity would offer if it found the plane, saying it would be subject to negotiation. He said financial costs were not an issue and that if all goes well, he did not expect the search to proceed.
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At an event held at a shopping mall on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur, some family members shed tears of joy at Roque’s reaction. “I’m on top of the world,” said Jaquita Gomez, whose husband, a flight attendant, was on the plane. She said she was grateful for the opportunity to have complete closure and say a final goodbye.
“We’ve been on a roller coaster for the last 10 years. … If we don’t find it, I hope we keep searching again,” she said. Families of passengers from Malaysia, Australia, China and India paid tribute to their loved ones during the event, lighting candles in their memory on stage.
“Whether it’s 10 years, 20 years, or more, as long as we live…we will never stop seeking the truth. We believe that the truth will come out one day. ” said Bai Zhong. China, where his wife was on the plane.