KUALA LUMPUR: The search are for Flight MH370 in the Indian Ocean will be expanded by another 60,000 sq km if no discovery is made by May, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said today.
He said about 60 per cent of the current 60,000 sq km search area has been covered and the remaining 40 per cent should be completed by May.
“If the aircraft is not found in the (current) 60,000 sq km, we will expand another 60,000 sq km. The total will be 120,000 sq km, which will be 95 per cent of the MH370 flight path,” Liow said at a press conference after a tripartite meeting with officials from Australia and China.
China’s Transport Minister Yang Chuantang said although they had covered more than 60 per cent of the priority search area, nothing has been found.
“China continues to be committed in this search effort and won't waver. No matter how daunting the challenges faced, China will not stop its efforts in the search operations with Malaysia and China,” he said.
Liow said the possible second phase of 60,000km sq will be an expansion from the current search area, in line with the seventh and final handshake between the aircraft and satellites.
Meanwhile, addressing recent speculations, Australian Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss said the possibility of MH370 being in the Maldives or Bay of Bengal is inconsistent with the satellite data and radar studied by the experts.
He said the next possible second phase of 60,000 sq km expansion would likely finish by the end of the year.