KUALA LUMPUR, March 8 — On the 10th anniversary of the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, the Australian government has offered Malaysia support for a renewed search for the missing aircraft.
Australia’s foreign minister Penny Wong and transport minister Catherine King in a joint statement said that the government’s “sincere sympathies” remained with the loved ones of those who were onboard, UK newspaper The Guardian reported.
“Despite coordinated efforts to locate the missing plane over the last decade, those who lost loved ones have not had the answers they seek. We recognise their ongoing heartache and grief.
“Australia coordinated what was one of the biggest search operations of its kind in history when the aircraft disappeared, searching over three million square kilometres above the water and more than 120,000 square kilometres under the water, sadly without locating the missing aircraft.
“The Australian Government is supportive of all practical efforts to find MH370. Australia stands ready to assist the Malaysian Government if it considers that Australian agencies are able to offer technical information as a result of their involvement in previous searches,” they were quoted as saying.
Flight MH370, a Boeing 777 aircraft carrying 239 people, disappeared from radar screens on March 8, 2014, while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing and its fate remains unknown.
On Sunday, the Malaysian government said it was in talks with US marine robotics company Ocean Infinity over a new search.
The company was reported as saying that it is willing and able to return to the search and has submitted a proposal to the Malaysian government.
Previously, the Malaysian government did a surface search in the South China Sea and the Strait of Malacca.
However, according to electronic blips picked up by satellites, the plane had turned around, flown until it ran out of fuel, then plunged into the Indian Ocean between Western Australia and Antarctica.
Following the data, the Australia government took over, with the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) leading the Indian Ocean underwater search effort from May 2014 to early 2017.
Australian agencies also involved in the search included the Defence Force, Australian Maritime Safety Authority, and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).
