The Australian government on Wednesday said the underwater search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 could resume in the future, a day after it was announced that the three-year search had been called off, Reuters reported.
“I don’t rule out a future underwater search by any stretch,” Australian Transport Minister Darren Chester said, adding that cost was not the reason behind suspending the search. “It’s a question of if you have credible new information, which leads to a specific location,” he said according to CNN.
On Tuesday, the Malaysian, Chinese and Australian governments officially called off the search in the southern Indian Ocean. “The decision to suspend the underwater search has not been taken lightly nor without sadness,” a joint statement issued by the three governments read. Despite using best technology based on advice from highly skilled professionals, the search has not been able to locate the aircraft, it said.
The aircraft was reported missing on March 8, 2014, with 239 people on board en route Beijing from Kuala Lumpur. Various teams from different countries had been looking for the Boeing 777 in a 1.2 lakh sqkm area of the Indian Ocean. Over $150 million (Rs 1,020 crore approximately) had been spent on the search, making it the most expensive search operation in aviation history. Debris from the aircraft had been found on the French island of Reunion, in Mozambique, South Africa and Rodrigues Island and Mauritius, among other sites.
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