Nearly 11 years after a Malaysia Airlines flight went missing, Malaysian transport minister Anthony Loke said on Tuesday (Feb 25) that they are resuming the search for MH370. 

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The maritime exploration firm based in Britain and the United States, Ocean Infinity, has begun the search operation in the Indian Ocean, 1500 km off the coast of Perth, Australia. 

A Boeing 777, flight MH370, with 227 passengers onboard and 12 crew members, vanished while it was en route to China's Beijing from Kuala Lumpur on March 8, 2014. 

It is known as one of the world's greatest aviation mysteries. 

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Loke told reporters that contract details between Malaysia and the firm were still being finalised. However, he welcomed Ocean Infinity's 'proactiveness' to deploy their ships to search for the missing plane. 

"They (Ocean Infinity) have convinced us that they are ready. That's why the Malaysian government is proceeding with this," Loke said. 

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However, he did not mention how long the search will continue. 

Also read: MH370 incident: Families of Chinese passengers of disappeared Malaysia Airlines flight call for new probe

Earlier in December 2024, the Malaysian government agreed on the principle to resume the search for the wreckage of the missing MH370 flight. 

The largest search in aviation was conducted, however, the plane has not been found yet. 

Past search operations

In 2018, Malaysian investigators dealt with Ocean Infinity to search for the wreckage in the southern Indian Ocean and offered to pay up to USD 70 million if the plane was found. 

Also read: Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 was lost in 'murder-suicide' plot, expert claims

However, the attempt wasn't successful. 

Later, Malaysia, Australia, and China conducted an underwater search in a 120,000 square kilometre area of the southern Indian Ocean based on data of automatic connections between an Inmarsat satellite and the plane.

Moreover, the final report of the tragedy was released in 2018, and it pointed to failings by air traffic control and said that the course of the plane was changed manually. 

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(With inputs from agencies)