The mystery of flight MH370: Malaysia resumes search for the plane that disappeared more than 11 years ago
Ocean Infinity, a company specializing in robotics for exploring the deep sea, says it has "credible information" and will focus on an area it "had overlooked."
BarcelonaThe Malaysian government will resume the search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 on December 30. which disappeared more than 11 years ago, with 239 people on boardShortly after taking off from Kuala Lumpur bound for Beijing, the new search attempt will be carried out by the deep-sea exploration robotics company Ocean Infinity and will last 55 days, according to an announcement by the Ministry of Transport. Ocean Infinity, specializing in robotics and deep-sea exploration and based in the United States and the United Kingdom, has been collaborating for years in the search for the plane, which disappeared on March 8, 2014. The aircraft disappeared from radar after entering the Maldives after leaving the Viaduct, presumably deviating mysteriously from its route and heading south over the Indian Ocean.
On board the Boeing 777 were 153 Chinese citizens, 50 Malaysians—twelve of whom were crew members—seven Indonesians, six Australians, five Indians, four French, three Americans, two New Zealanders, two Ukrainians, two Canadians, two Iranians, and two Taiwanese. Initially, Malaysia, China, and Australia conducted a joint search across 120,000 square kilometers of the Indian Ocean, but in January 2017, they called off the operation without locating the wreckage. Ocean Infinity also attempted to locate the plane between January and June 2018, in an area of approximately 100,000 square kilometers, but without success. Last April, the Malaysian government admitted that the operation was paused because "it wasn't the right time," but indicated that the search would resume before the end of the year. The Ministry of Transport's statement on Wednesday indicates that the new operation will be carried out "in a specific area with the highest probability of finding the aircraft," according to the agreement between Ocean Infinity and the Malaysian government. Last February, the company had already stated that the search is based on "credible" information and will focus on an area that it "overlooked" in previous missions.