Malaysia to end second search attempt to find missing MH370 aircraft after failing to find traces in over 80,000 sq km

Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia on Tuesday will end a second search attempt to find the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 after an area of more than 80,000 squared kilometres was scouted without finding any traces of the aircraft.

However, the Malaysian government has stated that they will review the investigations and left open the possibility of a third search, Efe reported.

Representational image. Reuters

The ship Seabed Constructor, hired by the US company Ocean Infinity, is still conducting a search on Tuesday.

In January, former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak had signed a contract with Ocean Infinity to track the area of the Indian Ocean where experts believe the plane had crashed.

According to the agreement, Malaysia would pay up to a maximum of $70 million if the company found the plane's fuselage and the two black boxes.

However, with the deadline expired, Malaysian Transport Minister Anthony Loke announced last week an official end to the search.

The flight MH370 disappeared from the radars on 8 March, 2014, about 40 minutes after taking off from Kuala Lumpur on the way to Beijing with 239 people on board.

The disappearance took place after someone switched off the communication systems and turned the aircraft around, according to the official investigation.

So far, 27 fragments of the plane have been recovered at beaches in Reunion, Mozambique, Mauritius, South Africa and Pemba Island (Zanzibar), after they followed the currents of the Indian Ocean, according to the official hypothesis of the disaster.

From these retrieved pieces, experts confirmed that three wing fragments found in Reunion, Mauritius and Pemba belong to the MH370, another seven pieces, including parts of the interior of the cabin, are "almost certainly" from the missing aircraft and another eight bear a "high probability".