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The Daily Beastreports that the Dutch-owned search vessel Fugro Equator moved more than 321 kilometres north to an area experts have recently identified as likely to contain the remains of the Boeing 777. Dr Richard Cole, from the University College in London, has claimed to have detected the change in mission in his own satellite tracking. He has been following the search operation closely. The Fugro Equator was making its final sweeps in that area when it was suddenly diverted north.
Flight officer Rayan Gharazeddine scans the water in the southern Indian Ocean off Australia from a Royal Australian Air Force AP-3C Orion during a search for the missing MH370.
It comes after the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), which has been leading the search mission, said in a report last month that the jet is almost certainly not in the current search zone and may be further north. It is understood that the crash site might be between latitudes 32 to 36 degrees south. The Equator is now operating close to latitude 32 degrees south, The Daily Beast reports.
ATSB staff examine a piece of debris from Malaysian Airlines MH370.
Dr Cole told The Daily Beast: “Equator has re-entered the search to the north, away from the area originally identified in late 2014 by the Australian Defense Science and Technology Group. Using a sonar system, it is now checking sea floor not previously scanned. The search has only limited time left, but they are investing this remaining time in scanning the area they now believe is the most likely location of MH370.” The search for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane MH370, that went missing in 2014, is set to conclude within two weeks, Malaysia’s transport minister has confirmed.
Metal box debris most likely from a nearby shipwreck in the MH370 search area
Liow Tiong Sai said and countries involved in the search — Australia, Malaysia and China — must decide whether to continue the operation in other areas. He said the decision of whether or not to extend the search beyond the 120,000 square kilometre area of the Indian Ocean covered till now, will be taken before the end of January. “We are in the final lap. The search will be completed in the next two weeks, then after that we will let people know,” Liow told reporters in Kuala Lumpur, reported The Star.
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The Joint Agency Coordination Center in Australia, which has helped lead the $160 million hunt for the Boeing 777 in remote waters west of Australia, said the search had officially been suspended after crews finished their fruitless sweep of the 120,000-square kilometer (46,000-square mile) search zone. “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 agency said in a statement. “Accordingly, the underwater search for MH370 has been suspended.”
The shadow of a Royal New Zealand Air Force P3 Orion is seen on low level cloud while the aircraft searches for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370.
Officials investigating the plane's disappearance have recommended search crews head north to a new area identified in a recent analysis as a possible crash site. But the Australian government has already nixed that idea. Last year, Australia, Malaysia and China - which have each helped fund the search - agreed that the hunt would be suspended once the search zone was exhausted unless new evidence emerges that pinpoints the plane's specific location. Since no technology currently exists that can tell investigators exactly where the plane is, that effectively means the most expensive, complex search in aviation history is over.
After 3 Years, MH370 Search Ends With no Plane, Few Answers
Australia's transport minister has said the search for flight MH370 could resume in the future, but only if "credible new evidence" emerges. Australia, Malaysia and China ended the Indian Ocean hunt on Tuesday, almost three years after the jet went missing. Darren Chester on Wednesday said Australia did not rule out another search, but he stressed he did not want to provide false hope. He also defended the suspension following criticism from relatives. The plane carrying 239 people vanished on 8 March 2014 while travelling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. More than 120,000 sq km (46,300 sq miles) of the Indian Ocean has been searched. Pieces of debris have been found as far away as Madagascar.
But only a handful of the fragments have been identified as definitely or highly likely to be from the Boeing 777. There were 14 nationalities among the 227 passengers and 12 crew on board the plane. The majority - 153 people - were Chinese. A report in November 2016 said the plane had probably made a "high and increasing rate of descent" into the Indian Ocean. "I don't rule out a future underwater search by any stretch," Mr Chester told reporters in Melbourne, stressing that the hunt was "not a closed book". But he said he did not want to provide false hope to the victims' families. "We need to have credible new evidence leading to a specific location before we would be reasonably considering future search efforts," he said.
The hunt for MH370 in 2014
Australia, Malaysia and China flagged in July that the search would be suspended this month if no credible new evidence was found. In the nations' joint statement on Tuesday, they hoped "new information will come to light". Mr Chester said analysis of satellite imagery and the drifting of plane debris in the ocean would continue into February while Australia remained open to help Malaysia on future requests including the examination of other aircraft fragments that may be found. He defended the choice of the search zone, which was called into question after new analysis in December concluded MH370 was not in the area.
The report, released by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB), said it was more likely to be in a 25,000 sq km north of the current one. "We need to understand the very limited amount of actual data our experts were dealing with... it has been the edge of science and technological endeavour in terms of pursuing this search effort," Mr Chester said. "In future, whether through better analysis of data, if new technology becomes available or through improved equipment or something of that nature, we may have a breakthrough."
Families angered