Some families of the lost plane's 239 passengers and crew were angry over the decision to stop what is already the most expensive search in aviation history, having cost 180 million Australian dollars ($135 million). Others continued to hold out hope. "In the absence of new evidence, Malaysia, Australia and China have collectively decided to suspend the search upon completion of the 120,000-square-kilometer (46,300-square-mile) search area," Malaysian Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said after a meeting with his Australian and Chinese counterparts. There are fewer than 10,000 square kilometers (3,900 square miles) left to be searched. In a statement read by Liow, the ministers acknowledged that "the likelihood of finding the aircraft is fading."
The ministers said the search could be revived, but only if new evidence emerges. "Should credible new information emerge which can be used to identify the specific location of the aircraft, consideration will be given in determining next steps," their joint statement said. As Liow and the other two ministers were addressing the news conference, representatives of the passengers' families stood outside the building holding placards calling on authorities to keep trying. "Find the plane, ease our pain," read one. "We don't want the suspension to be just a way to let everyone calm down and slowly forget about it," said Grace Subathirai Nathan, a Malaysian whose mother, Anne Daisy, was on the flight. "We want them to be doing something in the interim to look for new information."
Australian Transport Minister Darren Chester said experts will continue to analyze data and inspect debris but added, "Future searches must have a high level of success to justify raising hopes of loved ones." The Boeing 777 vanished on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014. It is believed to have turned back west and then south before dropping into the Indian Ocean west of Australia, where the search has been concentrated. Much of what happened to the plane remains a mystery, though the Malaysian government has concluded that it was deliberately steered off course. Liow said the search, hampered by bad weather and damaged equipment, will end by December.
Although the ministers were at pains to say they were not permanently ending the search, it is evident that it is highly unlikely to continue after that, given how few clues have emerged since the disappearance of the plane. Confirmed and possible debris has been found off East Africa thousands of kilometers (miles) away, but authorities have said the wreckage has provided no information that might help locate the bulk of the aircraft.
Some relatives remained hopeful that the search will resume one day. "I feel encouraged. Fearing the worst, we now have something to hang on to," said K.S. Narenderan, who lost his wife, Chandrika Sharma, on the flight. "I read into it a commitment to stay engaged in the search and to hold themselves accountable to pursue the truth." "You can suspend, but don't stop there," said Jacquita Gonzales, whose husband Patrick Gomes was a crew member on Flight 370. "Suspension can be five years, 15 years, 20 years. ... It's a long wait, so go back to the drawing board."
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