MH370 mystery: $70 million reward and a last-ditch effort by Malaysia to solve aviation's biggest puzzle

The hunt for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 has resumed, marking another effort to solve one of aviation's greatest mysteries. Malaysia has agreed to terms and conditions of an agreement with Ocean Infinity to resume the search for the wreckage of the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, its transport minister said on Wednesday.

The decision will enable commencement of seabed search operations in a new location estimated to cover 15,000 square km in the southern Indian Ocean, based on a "no find, no fee" principle, minister Loke Siew Fook said in a statement. The firm will receive $70 million if the wreckage is successfully located, he said.

The aircraft vanished on 8 March 2014 while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board. Now, nearly 11 years later, Ocean Infinity has launched a fresh search in the Indian Ocean, 1,500 km off the coast of Perth, Australia.

A Painful Search History

MH370’s disappearance led to one of the most expensive and prolonged search operations in aviation history. The initial joint search by Malaysia, China, and Australia covered 120,000 sq km but was called off in January 2017 after no conclusive findings.

In 2018, Ocean Infinity conducted another search, focusing on a smaller 25,000 sq km area, but ended operations in June that year without results. The only confirmed debris has been pieces of wreckage that washed up on shores in the years following the incident.

The mystery surrounding MH370 sparked outrage, particularly in China, where most passengers were from. In March 2014, hundreds of grieving relatives protested outside the Malaysian Embassy in Beijing upon learning there were no survivors. Some called for a boycott of Malaysian products and tourism.

The mystery surrounding MH370 sparked outrage, particularly in China, where most passengers were from. In March 2014, hundreds of grieving relatives protested outside the Malaysian Embassy in Beijing upon learning there were no survivors. Some called for a boycott of Malaysian products and tourism.

The search, expected to last six weeks, may be the last major attempt to uncover the truth behind MH370’s fate.