Devastating reason search for missing MH370 plane suddenly halted
The latest search for the vanished Malaysia Airlines plane by a marine robotics firm has been abruptly stopped due to seasonal conditions, leaving families devastated as they continue to mourn a decade later.
Malaysia's transport minister, Anthony Loke, declared a temporary cessation of the search to AFP, stating: "They have stopped the operation for the time being, they will resume the search at the end of this year."
He emphasised that the current season rendered the search unfeasible, though he did not elaborate on why this seasonal shift disrupted the efforts. He added: "Right now, it's not the season."
The aircraft, a Boeing 777 known as Flight MH370, vanished with 227 passengers and 12 crew members while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014. This disappearance has led to one of the greatest unsolved mysteries in the history of aviation and is also the deadliest incident involving a missing aircraft.
The halt in the search comes just after authorities had announced plans to restart the search, following prior exhaustive but unsuccessful searches across the Indian Ocean, reports the Mirror.
On the 11th anniversary of the flight's disappearance last month, relatives of the Chinese passengers gathered outside government buildings and the Malaysian embassy in Beijing. At the vigil, they cried out, "Give us back our loved ones!".
Other heartbroken family members displayed banners asking the poignant question, "When will the 11 years of waiting and torment end?".
The initial search for the missing MH370, led by Australia, covered 120,000sq km (46,300sq miles) and spanned three years, but only turned up a few pieces of debris. In 2018, Ocean Infinity, a maritime exploration firm from the UK and US, embarked on an unsuccessful search and agreed to make another attempt this year under a "no find, no fee" deal with the Malaysian government, who will pay only if the aircraft is found.
Early in April, Loke expressed caution regarding the search outcome, stating, "Whether or not it will be found will be subject to the search, nobody can anticipate," in reference to the plane's remains.
Since the vanishing of MH370, there has been widespread speculation ranging from credible hypotheses to fantastical suggestions involving the experienced pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah committing hijack. There is yet to be any confirmation of these theories, leaving the actual cause shrouded in mystery.
A comprehensive report published in 2018 pointed out failings by air traffic control and verified that the flight's direction was manually changed. Nonetheless, despite the exhaustive 495-page investigation, officials were unable to provide a definitive rationale for the plane's disappearance, nor rule out the chance that someone other than the pilots might have changed its course.
The relatives of those on board MH370 continue to demand answers from Malaysian authorities. Two-thirds of the passengers were Chinese nationals, with the remainder coming from Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, and various other nations.
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