The deep-sea search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 has begun – more than a decade after the jet vanished with 239 people on board.
The Boeing 777 disappeared from radar shortly after departing Kuala Lumpur International Airport en route to Beijing on 8 March 2014.
Satellite data showed the aircraft deviated from its flight path and headed south into the far-southern Indian Ocean, where investigators believe it crashed, with 227 passengers and 12 crew on board.
A multinational search, spearheaded by Australia, failed to locate the jet, although possible debris was found along the coastline of East African and Indian Ocean islands.
Malaysia‘s transport ministry announced earlier this month American marine robotics firm Ocean Infinity would embark on an intermittent 55-day search at the end of December.
On Wednesday, the country’s government said a search vessel, the Armada 86 05, arrived at a designated search area with two autonomous underwater vehicles.
It said the vessel had prepared for the search at Fremantle Port in Western Australia, although the location of the search area has not been disclosed.
Search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 to resume 11 years after it went missing
Hunt for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 to resume 10 years after plane vanished
Search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 to resume a decade after it vanished
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The Malaysian government previously said it had approved a “no-find, no-fee” contract with Ocean Infinity, with the company to be paid $70m (£53m) only if wreckage is discovered.
Ocean Infinity conducted an unsuccessful private search in 2018.
Its chief executive, Oliver Plunkett, said last year the firm was working with multiple experts and had narrowed the search zone to what it believes is the most probable crash site.
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Earlier this year, Ocean Infinity briefly restarted seabed search operations in a new 5,800-square-mile area of the southern Indian Ocean, but the effort was suspended in April because of poor weather.
The firm has confirmed it was resuming the search for MH370 but refused to comment further, citing the “important and sensitive nature” of the operation.
