Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
MALAYSIA HAS AGREED to allow a US exploration firm to resume the hunt for flight MH370, a year after the search was suspended.
The news came after the company, Ocean Infinity, said this week it had already dispatched a research vessel towards the expected search zone as it believed a deal would be finalised imminently.
The Malaysia Airlines jet disappeared in March 2014 with 239 people — mostly from China — on board en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, triggering one of the world’s greatest aviation mysteries.
No sign of the plane was found in a 120,000 square kilometre search zone selected by satellite analysis of the jet’s likely trajectory.
The Australian-led sea search, the largest in aviation history, was suspended in January last year.
But Malaysian Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai has now that an agreement has been made with the US firm, adding the deal was on a “no find, no fee” basis.
“It is our duty to look for answers and the plane, and as of today the government has decided to go ahead with the search,” he said.
He added that a contract would be signed next week in Kuala Lumpur.
News of the decision was also sent to relatives of those on board the doomed jet.
The message, seen by AFP, said: “The MH370 Response Team wishes to note that the Government of Malaysia has engaged Ocean Infinity to undertake further search operation for MH370″.
Norwegian research vessel Seabed Constructor, leased by Ocean Infinity for the search, set off from South Africa this month for the southern Indian Ocean, where MH370 is believed to have disappeared.
The firm wants to start the hunt during a period of good weather expected in January and February. The vessel is carrying several autonomous submarines which can be launched from the ship to scour the seabed for the jet.
Ocean Infinity has not given details of the new search area.
But Australia’s national science body released a report in April suggesting the doomed plane was “most likely” north of the former search zone in an area of approximately 25,000 square kilometres.
Only three confirmed fragments of MH370 have been found, all of them on western Indian Ocean shores, including a two-metre wing part known as a flaperon.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
In all fairness that’s a great result.
Excellent
Great news. Congratulations and best of luck to all students beginning college in this difficult time.
To think we were laughing at the UK making a bo**ix of their calculated grades system, we then said hold my beer.
Good stuff. Delighted for those impacted but leaving very should never have been cancelled.
I’d say Simon is not missing the health portfolio these days…
Brilliant outcome. Good luck to all the students involved.
This further disadvantages the LC class-of-2019. Already hit with a new system that yielded record results and so put them at a huge disadvantage w.r.t. their LC-2020 counterparts – they are now further back in the queue because 2020 students were upgraded only (but not downgraded) because of the system errors.
Tens of thousands of them – why is nobody “moving mountains” for them ?
Simon is really a great minister what he has done in 2020! Much respect for him.
It’s a great turn around, but they should not be left out of pocket. Will they be reimbursed for fees already paid to a different college, for books and other items specific to the original course they were offered which they have paid for? Deposits on now useless accommodation?
@Dave Gillen #wearamask #noToRacism: I guess there will be a scramble for accommodation now. Only high end units left!
Good news, though tbf at this late point, they might as well defer.
@willow moon: Why?
Most colleges only started back last week or the week before and are online. the majority of lectures are recorded on blackboard or moodle.
No hassle catching up.
@willow moon: not really, a lot of courses would have started later this year anyway and even if they started the first week of September catching up is definitely doable since there’s a lot of introductory stuff in every course
@Fiona Reidy: results only released on 7th September and CAO on 11th September so they didn’t start first week .
Just out of internet and to clarify, does this mean the initial 424 students that received course places before the coding debacle have now been removed as it were or “squeezed out” fairly? Are they being reimbursed/compensated for their course fees, accommodation, and other expenses by the Department of Education per se??
@Kiern Mcx: Or did the latter 424 students get additional places in the respective courses so the initial 424 didn’t lose out on their places?
A week where this story dominated everything from the Dail to the airwaves one muppet of a TD even called for a full public inquiry costing millions never mind the amount of calls for the Ministers head.
This actually affected only 450 out of 60,000 students and they now all have been sorted within two weeks .
We really do need to cop ourselves on and calm down on the indignant outrage for a small bit.
Not my Daughter! 2 points short for Pharmacy due to downgrade in Chemistry not to mention points through the roof this year! Teacher gave her H1 no word on her appeal she got H2!
have your say