Search for vanished Malaysian airliner suspended

The search for the Malaysian airliner that disappeared three years ago with 239 on board has been suspended

Malaysia, Australia and China agreed in July to suspend the search if the plane was not found or new evidence uncovered once the area of the Indian Ocean had been checked
Malaysia, Australia and China agreed in July to suspend the search if the plane was not found or new evidence uncovered once the area of the Indian Ocean had been checked

The deep-sea search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 ended on Tuesday without any trace being found of the plane that vanished in 2014 with 239 people on board, the three countries involved in the search said.

In a statement, Australia, Malaysia and China said the decision was taken with "sadness" after a fruitless search in more than 120,000 sq km (46,300 miles) of the Indian Ocean.

"Despite every effort using the best science available ... the search has not been able to locate the aircraft," Malaysian, Australian and Chinese authorities said.

Malaysia, Australia and China agreed in July to suspend the search if the plane was not found or new evidence uncovered once that area had been checked.

A report in November 2016 said the plane probably made a "high and increasing rate of descent" into the Indian Ocean.

"Whilst combined scientific studies have continued to refine areas of probability, to date no new information has been discovered to determine the specific location of the aircraft," Tuesday's joint statement said.

"We remain hopeful that new information will come to light and that at some point in the future the aircraft will be located."

Australia last month dismissed an investigators' recommendation to shift the search further north, saying that no new evidence had emerged to support that.

Families of the victims called the suspension of the search an "irresponsible" move that must be reconsidered.

A next-of-kin support group called Voice 370 said in a statement investigators could not leave the matter unsolved.

"In our view, extending the search to the new area defined by the experts is an inescapable duty owed to the flying public in the interest of aviation safety," Voice 370 said.

Flight MH370 vanished en route to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur in 2014.

So far only seven of the 20 pieces of recovered debris have been identified as definitely or highly likely to be from the Boeing 777.