The latest search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 has ended without revealing any evidence about the missing plane, the Malaysian Ministry of Transport said on Sunday, as the 12th anniversary of the plane’s disappearance came.The Boeing 777 carrying 239 people disappeared from radar screens on March 8, 2014, while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in what remains one of aviation’s most enduring mysteries.The latest search, which began in December and covered about 15,000 square kilometers of seabed, failed to locate the plane, Malaysia’s Ministry of Transport said in a statement.
reconnaissance
Should more resources be allocated to searching for missing aircraft such as MH370?
The ministry said that efforts “did not yield any results confirming the location of the plane’s wreckage.”
The search operation was carried out by the Ocean Infinity exploration company, based in Britain and the United States. The company completed its mission on January 23 after weeks of surveying the seabed using advanced underwater technology.To try to locate the missing plane, Ocean Infinity deployed autonomous underwater drones capable of diving to depths of up to 6,000 meters (20,000 feet).The disappearance of MH370 sparked the largest search effort in aviation history, yet the plane, its passengers, and its flight recorders have never been found.
The plane was carrying passengers from several countries, and two-thirds of those on board were Chinese citizens. Others include Malaysians, Indonesians and Australians, along with Indian, American, Dutch and French nationals.The families of the Chinese passengers expressed their frustration over the lack of communication about the latest search in an open letter published on Sunday, the anniversary of the plane’s disappearance.“We understand the difficulties of the search,” the relatives said in a joint open letter addressed to Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, in which they thanked him for starting the search.“However, since January 15 of this year, families have received no further research briefings at all.”The families also said they repeatedly tried to contact the authorities to no avail.“Over the past two months, we have repeatedly contacted the Malaysian Ministry of Transport through Malaysia Airlines and the Chinese government, but have not received any response,” they said.They also described the emotional toll that the prolonged uncertainty had on the relatives of those on board.“For 12 years, we received almost no real psychological support.”“We ask for little: just to be seen, heard, and treated as individuals with feelings and dignity.”Relatives of the Chinese passengers are expected to meet officials from the Chinese Foreign Ministry on Monday, an annual meeting held on the anniversary of the flight’s disappearance.
They are also expected to visit the Malaysian Embassy in Beijing to deliver their message to Prime Minister Anwar.Ocean Infinity had previously conducted an unsuccessful search for the plane in 2018. Earlier, Australia led a three-year multinational search that ended in January 2017 without finding the plane.More than a decade after the disappearance of MH370, the fate of the plane and the 239 passengers on board remains unknown.
