PUTRAJAYA, July 22, 2016 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia's Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai (C), Chinese Minister of Transport Yang Chuantang (R) and Australia's Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Darren Chester (L) attend a joint press conference in Putrajaya, Malaysia, July 22, 2016. Government of Malaysia, Australia and China announced on Friday that search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 would be suspended upon completion of the current search area, but promised to resume search should new evidence emerge. (Xinhua/Chong Voon Chung)
PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia, July 22 (Xinhua) -- Government of Malaysia, Australia and China announced on Friday that search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 would be suspended upon completion of the current search area if no new evidences emerge.
The announcement was made following a tripartite meeting attended by transport ministers of the three countries in Malaysia. Despite the discovery to some debris, a joint search effort has not yet found the main body of the aircraft in the south Indian Ocean, where it has presumably ended its journey.
Speaking to a press conference after the meeting, Malaysian Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said the three countries had collectively decided to suspend the search effort upon completion of the 120,000 square kilometer search area in the absence of credible new evidence.
In a joint communique, the three ministers said none of the debris had provided information that positively identified the precise location of the aircraft, and with less than 10,000 square kilometers high priority search area remaining to be searched, "the likelihood of finding the aircraft is fading."
"This decision was not taken lightly, nor without some sadness," said Australian minister for infrastructure and transport Darren Chester, adding that the work would continue in relation to analyzing data, inspecting debris and considering all the information available.
Officials said they remained hopeful that the aircraft would be found in the remaining of the search area. Liow said the search effort was impeded by the poor weather conditions due to winter and damaged equipment and may not be completed until October or even December.
The three ministers reiterated that their governments remains committed to find the aircraft.
"We will not abandon our efforts to search for flight MH370," said Chinese Transport Minister Yang Chuantang.
"Suspension does not mean a termination of the search work. In the future, should key information leading to the location of the aircraft emerges, it will be assessed to determine our next steps," he said.
Flight MH370 disappeared on March 8, 2014 en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board, most of them being Chinese nationals.
