A fresh search for missing plane MH370 is set to start off the coast of WA after a “credible” proposal was put forward by researchers.
The Malaysia Airlines flight mysteriously vanished in 2014 with 239 people on board — including six Australian passengers — and despite many searches, the plane has never been located.
However, ten years on, Malaysia’s transport minister Anthony Loke confirmed the country was in advanced talks with US-based marine exploration company Ocean Infinity to search a 15,000 sqm zone in the southern Indian Ocean.
“Based on the latest information and analysis from experts and researchers, Ocean Infinity’s search proposal is credible and can be considered by the Malaysian government as the flight’s official registrar,” Mr Loke said in Parliament on Tuesday.
“The terms and costs requested are in the same draft agreement currently being negotiated between the government and Ocean Infinity.
“Should it be finalised, cabinet approval will be required, and I will make a public announcement.”
Ocean Infinity’s search would be on a “no find, no fee” basis, meaning the Malaysian government will not have to pay for the search if the wreckage is not located.
However, if the wreckage of MH370 is located, the robotic technology company is requesting a $70 million payment.
March 8, 2024, marked ten years since the plane disappeared from flight radars less than an hour after taking off from Kuala Lumpur and was never seen again.
On board the doomed flight to China was Perth dad Paul Weeks whose wife Dancia has never given up on finding answers.
Earlier this year, Danica opened up about the pain of losing her husband, saying it’s “hell on earth”.
“At the end of the day, I just want him home. I want answers,” she said.
“It’s like it is day dot. I don’t have the right to grieve. Pauly has never been given the right process.
“The families have never been afforded proper process. We need it because we are stuck in this ambiguous loss, this hell on earth.”
The fresh search would bring new hope to the families and loved ones of the passengers who boarded the doomed flight.