The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Anger as search for missing plane halted
Likelihood of finding downed Flight 370 ‘is fading’
The hunt for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 will be suspended once the current search area in the Indian Ocean has been completely scoured, the three countries conducting the operation have announced.
Some families of the lost plane’s 239 passengers and crew were angry over the decision to stop what is already the most expensive search in aviation history, having cost 180million Australian dollars (£102million).
Others continued to hold out hope.
Malaysian transport minister Liow Tiong Lai said: “Inthe absence ofnew evidence, Malaysia, Australia and China have collectively decided to suspend the search upon completion of the 46,300sq mile search area.”
In a statement read by Mr Liow, the ministers acknowledged that “the likelihood of finding the aircraft is fading”.
They said the search could be revived, but only if new evidence emerges.
“Should credible new information emerge which can be used to identify the specific location of the aircraft, consideration will be given in determining next steps,” their joint statement said.
As Mr Liow and his Australian and Chinese counterparts were addressing the news conference, representatives of the passengers’ families stood outside the building holding placards calling on authorities to keep trying. “Find the plane, ease our pain,” read one.
Grace Subathirai Nathan, a Malaysian whose mother, Anne Daisy, wason the flight, said: “We don’t want the suspension to be just a way to let everyone calm down and slowly forget about it.
“We want them to be doing something in the interim to look for new information.”
Australian Transport Minister Darren Chester said experts will continue to analyse data and inspect debris but added: “Future searches must have a high level of success to justify raising hopes of loved ones.”
The Boeing 777 vanished during a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014.