BINTULU: The search for the missing MH370 will continue over another 120,000 sq. km of sea bed, and the massive sweep is expected to be completed by end of December this year.
Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said this following confirmation that an outboard flap found off the coast of Tanzania last June belonged to the ill-fated Malaysia Airlines aircraft.
“We will continue our search for the missing plane. We have to cover another 120,000 sq km.
“I promised to the world to complete the 120,000 sq km search area by end of December this year,” he told reporters when met during his official visit to Bintulu Port Authority yesterday.
Earlier, experts from the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) concluded that the debris discovered on the island of Pemba, off the coast of Tanzania, was a part of the lost airplane.
Liow said to-date 22 pieces of debris had been recovered: two confirmed as belonging to the aircraft, while four, which had no serial numbers, were almost certain to be from MH370, too. Other pieces were still being probed.
“I would like to thank ATSB Australia and the authorities in Tanzania for sending the outboard flap, which belongs to MH370 back to us.
“This confirmation means a lot to us as we can further examine the debris and uncover new insight into the circumstances surrounding flight MH370.”
In the meantime, Liow said no more debris have been discovered floating around South Africa, Mozambique and Mauritius.
“We are also looking at what the Australian experts say because of the drifting pattern: it shows that the place that we are searching for MH370 is the right place—the debris will be reaching Tanzania, Mauritius, Mozambique and South Africa along this area.”
Two years ago, on March 8, Flight MH370 disappeared while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 passengers and crew on board.
Despite a massive search operation in the southern Indian Ocean where it was believed to have ended its flight, the plane has yet to be found.