Malaysia To Resume Search For Missing MH370 Plane

The Malaysian government has agreed in principle to resume the search for the wreckage of missing Malaysia Airlines flight 370. MH370, a Boeing 777 carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew, vanished en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014. This incident is considered one of aviation's greatest mysteries.

Anthony Loke, Malaysia's transport minister, said that the proposal to search a new area in the southern Indian Ocean came from a US-based exploration company. "We hope this time will be positive, that the wreckage will be found and give closure to the families," said the minister, as quoted by Reuters. Anthony Loke also added that a contract would be signed to cover an 18-month period, and the firm would receive $70 million if wreckage found was substantive. The search would be on the seabed of a new area covering 15,000 sq km.

Flight MH370 lost communication with air traffic control less than an hour after takeoff, and radar showed that it deviated from its planned flight path. Following the incident, a massive search was launched in the southern Indian Ocean but was eventually called off after finding no trace of flight.