3-year hunt ends without finding Malaysian plane

JAKARTA, Indonesia — Nearly three years after Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappeared over the Indian Ocean, Australia, China and Malaysia on Tuesday called off the underwater search, saying “no new information has been discovered” to solve what has become one of aviation’s greatest mysteries.

A statement by the Joint Agency Coordination Center in Australia, which has helped lead the $160-million effort, said the deep-sea search was suspended after failing to find a trace of the Boeing 777 in a 46,000square-mile zone in remote waters west of Australia.

“Despite every effort using the best science available, cutting-edge technology, as well as modeling and advice from highly skilled professionals who are the best in their field, unfortunately, the search has not been able to locate the aircraft,” the center said.

The news prompted anger from family members of the 239 passengers and crew members from 14 countries who were on the aircraft when it disappeared on March 8, 2014. The plane left Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and was en route to Beijing.

A statement by Voice370, a group made up of relatives of the missing, pleaded with the governments to reconsider, saying that “commercial planes cannot just be allowed to disappear without a trace.”

It pointed to a December report by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau that suggested the search was focusing on the wrong place. But the Australian government said the findings were not precise enough to warrant moving the hunt.