KUALA LUMPUR – Transport Minister Anthony Loke today said he will not close the book on the disappearance of flight MH370.
He said due consideration will be given to future search operations if there is any credible information on the aircraft.
“To the families of the 239 passengers and crew members on board the lost aircraft, no amount of sympathy can erase the grief and heartache of losing your loved ones.
“I am painfully aware of the desire for closure. Since 2014, Malaysia and its international partners have searched millions of square kilometres through air, ship, and undersea operations,” said Loke.
He said Malaysians will stand by the victims’ families and share the weight of this pain together.
“We honour the lives lost and will not forget them,” added the transport minister.
Loke said this in a statement in conjunction with the upcoming 9th anniversary of the aircraft’s disappearance.
On March 8th, 2014, flight MH370 was on its way to Beijing when it suddenly vanished. 227 passengers and 12 crew members of the Boeing 777 flight were subsequently presumed dead.
It is said that, after MH370 crossed into Vietnamese airspace, the symbol representing its transponder dropped from the screens of Malaysian air traffic control, and 37 seconds later, the entire aircraft disappeared from secondary radar.
An international search effort by 34 ships and 28 aircraft from seven different countries focused on areas between the South China Sea, Malaysia, and Vietnam.
In 2017, Australia, China, and Malaysia ended a fruitless RM614.32 million search across a 120,000 sq km area in the Indian Ocean. – The Vibes, March 5, 2023