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| MH370: Four-year hunt ends after private search is completed | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The four-year hunt for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 has ended with the latest, privately funded search coming to a close. | |
| US-based Ocean Infinity had been using a deep-sea vessel to survey a vast area of the southern Indian Ocean. | |
| But it found nothing and Malaysia's government says it has no plans to begin any new searches. | But it found nothing and Malaysia's government says it has no plans to begin any new searches. |
| The plane disappeared on 8 March 2014 while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board. | The plane disappeared on 8 March 2014 while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board. |
| Official search efforts ended last year and there are still fierce debates about what happened to the flight. | |
| Grace Nathan, whose mother was on MH370, said she was opposed to ending the hunt. | |
| "People might think: 'Why are these people still harping on about this, it's been four years'. It's important for people to remember that MH370 is not history," she told the Guardian newspaper. | "People might think: 'Why are these people still harping on about this, it's been four years'. It's important for people to remember that MH370 is not history," she told the Guardian newspaper. |
| Ocean Infinity surveyed an area of about 80,000 sq km (30,888 sq miles), using a fleet of up to eight mini-submarines. | Ocean Infinity surveyed an area of about 80,000 sq km (30,888 sq miles), using a fleet of up to eight mini-submarines. |
| The deteriorating weather in the area as winter approaches now makes operating there impossible for the next few months. | The deteriorating weather in the area as winter approaches now makes operating there impossible for the next few months. |
| The company had agreed to undertake the search unpaid but would have received a reward of up to $70m if it had found the wreckage. | The company had agreed to undertake the search unpaid but would have received a reward of up to $70m if it had found the wreckage. |
| How did the flight end? | How did the flight end? |
| Investigators have very limited information about the plane's last hours. | Investigators have very limited information about the plane's last hours. |
| Experts still cannot come to a definitive conclusion as to whether MH370 remained under the pilot's command, or crashed out of control into the sea. | Experts still cannot come to a definitive conclusion as to whether MH370 remained under the pilot's command, or crashed out of control into the sea. |
| Each of these two scenarios suggests different search areas. | Each of these two scenarios suggests different search areas. |
| The reasons why the pilot took the airliner off its scheduled flight path and down into a remote stretch of ocean are still unknown, as most of the communication equipment on board had been switched off. | The reasons why the pilot took the airliner off its scheduled flight path and down into a remote stretch of ocean are still unknown, as most of the communication equipment on board had been switched off. |
| Earlier this month, Australian investigators rejected suggestions that the plane was deliberately brought down by the pilot. | Earlier this month, Australian investigators rejected suggestions that the plane was deliberately brought down by the pilot. |
| How the mystery unfolded | How the mystery unfolded |
| 8 March 2014: Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 departs for Beijing. The plane loses contact less than an hour after take-off, with no distress signal or message sent. Initial search efforts focus on the South China Sea | 8 March 2014: Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 departs for Beijing. The plane loses contact less than an hour after take-off, with no distress signal or message sent. Initial search efforts focus on the South China Sea |
| 15 March 2015: After evidence emerges that the plane was diverted to the south, the focus switches to the Indian Ocean | 15 March 2015: After evidence emerges that the plane was diverted to the south, the focus switches to the Indian Ocean |
| July 2015: Large piece of debris washes ashore on Reunion, an island in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar | July 2015: Large piece of debris washes ashore on Reunion, an island in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar |
| January 2017: The governments of Australia, Malaysia and China announce they are suspending the official search after failing to find anything in the area thought to be the plane's final resting place | January 2017: The governments of Australia, Malaysia and China announce they are suspending the official search after failing to find anything in the area thought to be the plane's final resting place |
| January 2018: Amid pressure from relatives, Malaysia signs a deal with a private company to resume the hunt | January 2018: Amid pressure from relatives, Malaysia signs a deal with a private company to resume the hunt |
| May 2018: The latest search ends, with Malaysia saying it has no plans to restart it | May 2018: The latest search ends, with Malaysia saying it has no plans to restart it |