KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 10 — The families of those on board missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 have welcomed the deal struck between the Malaysian government and US firm Ocean Infinity to resume an underwater search for the plane that went missing nearly four years ago.
In a statement, the group representing the next-of-kin, Voice 370, said that it appreciated the bold offer for the search based on a “no cure, no fee” basis.
The group also urged the government to update the families on future recovery efforts and the possible handling of any debris or human remains.
“It is our fervent hope that the search yields results. While it may not bring our loved ones back into our midst, we wish for the answers that will let matters rest and to make civil aviation safer,” the statement read.
Voice 370 also urged the government to be open to similar “no cure, no fee” search proposals by other parties should Ocean Infinity’s search mission prove to be unsuccessful.
Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said today that while Ocean Infinity’s deal is based on a “no cure, no fee” basis, a payment of up to US$70 million (RM285 million) will be made if the US firm is able to locate the debris field of the missing jumbo jet or the aircraft’s black box within 90 days from the launch of the search starting mid-January.
He said the primary mission by the US exploration firm is to identify the location of the wreckage and or both of the flight recorders, namely the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) and Flight Data Recorder (FDR).
Liow said the payment, which will be borne by the government, is subject to the coverage area of the wreckage, which was agreed to four divisions.
The conditions of the reward are US$20 million (RM82 million) for the 5,000 square kilometre primary search area, US$30 million (RM122 million) for the subsequent 10,000 square kilometre secondary search area, US$50 million (RM205 million) for the subsequent 10,000 square kilometre tertiary search area, and US$70 million (RM285 million) for any additional supplementary search areas beyond 25,000 square kilometres.
He said the search will include 65 crew on board, including two Royal Malaysian Navy personnel as the Malaysian government’s representatives.
He said the MH370 response team will be headed by Civil Aviation director-general Datuk Seri Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, along with officials from the ministry, Foreign Affairs Ministry, and Communications and Multimedia Ministry.
Malaysia had agreed to allow the American company to resume the search for missing flight MH370, a year after the hunt was suspended on January 2017.
Ocean Infinity had dispatched a research vessel earlier this month bound for the expected search area.
Missing flight MH370 disappeared with 239 people on board on March 8, 2014 while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing after diverting from its flight path.
No sign of the plane was found in the search zone selected by satellite analysis of the flight’s projected trajectory.
