Malaysia says MH370 report to be released at search’s end

The full investigation report into the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 will be released after the latest search efforts are completed, officials said on Thursday.

Flight MH370, carrying 239 people onboard, became one of the world’s greatest aviation mysteries when it disappeared on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014.

Malaysia agreed in January to pay US firm Ocean Infinity up to $70 million if it found the plane during an offshore search effort that is underway and expected to end in June.

The decision to hire the firm came after Australia, China and Malaysia ended a $159.38 million search across a 120,000 square-kilometer area in the Indian Ocean last year, despite investigators calling for the target area to be extended 25,000 square kilometers north.

The release of a full report into the disappearance has been suspended pending the outcome of the new search, as any new evidence uncovered is “likely to significantly affect the investigation,” Malaysian investigators said in their annual interim statement sent to families of those aboard the plane.

“In the event that the aircraft is found, the team will conduct further investigation,” said the statement due to be released publicly later on Thursday.

“If the aircraft is not found and a decision is made to discontinue the search, the team will resume the completion of the report and release it in the months ahead.”

The Seabed Constructor vessel has covered 16,000 square kilometers so far but has not identified any significant findings, Ocean Infinity said in its weekly update on Tuesday.