The Malaysian and Chinese transport ministers Yang Chuantang, and Liow Tiong Lai, along with Australia’s deputy Prime Minister, Warren Truss announced an official statement regarding this issue. According to them, the ministers have decided to extend the search by 60,000 square kilometers to bring the search area to a total of 120,000 square kilometers. It will cover the highest probability area identified by expert analysts. Considering the adverse weather conditions to be faced during winter, this extended search could take another year. The Malaysian Flight MH370 disappeared from radar screens, shortly after taking off from KL, Malaysia. According to investigators, the plane was flown thousand miles off course, before eventually crashing in a mysterious location.
Meanwhile, the search of a 23,000 square mile patch of seabed, around 1,000 miles west of Perth is expected to be completed by next month. More than 60% of the previously unmapped highest priority-designated sea-floor was searched by vessels equipped with underwater search equipment and sophisticated underwater drones.
They belonged to Dutch engineering firm Fugro and Australia’s Go Marine Group. According to the ministers, this extended search could be the last possible search, with the best opportunity to discover the remains of this aircraft. After the extra 60,000 sq.km is covered, all high-probability search areas would be covered.
Stay tuned for more updates on Malaysian Flight MH370!