MH370 search to be suspended

Officials at Malaysia Airlines are bracing themselves for a backlash from relatives of passengers who were on board the missing flight MH370 after it was announced the search for traces of the aircraft may be suspended soon.

The Boeing 777 and 239 passengers disappeared in March 2014 during a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Almost US$135m (£130m) has been spent on an underwater search across more than 46,000sq mi of the southern Indian Ocean.

Malaysian transport minister Liow Tiong Lai said in a statement with Chinese and Australian authorities that an absence of “new credible evidence” had led the three countries to agree to suspend the search after the latest area had been swept.

Liow denied the team was giving up, adding: “Should credible new information emerge which can be used to identify the specific location of the aircraft, consideration will be given in determining next steps.”

The prevailing theory is that MH370 was flown deliberately thousands of miles off course before crashing into the sea off Australia.

However, searchers at the Dutch company leading the hunt told Reuters they believed the aircraft may have glided into the sea rather than dived, supporting theories that someone was in control during the final moments.

www.malaysiaairlines.com

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