“Find the plane, ease our pain”, read one.
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The three transport ministers said cost was not a factor and data will continue to be analysed looking for “new credible evidence” of the plane’s location.
The Boeing 777 vanished on March 8, 2014 en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with mostly Chinese nationals overseas, in what remains one of the greatest mysteries in aviation history.
Senior officials announced Friday that the worldwide effort to locate MH370 will be suspended and rethought if the missing plane isn’t found in the remaining search area.
They say that the current search, of an area of 120,000 square kilometers, is almost at an end, and the chances are slim that it will prove fruitful.
Searchers at the Dutch company leading the underwater hunt for MH370 told Reuters they believed the plane may have glided down to the sea rather than dived, meaning they have been scouring the wrong patch of ocean.
The use of the term “suspended” was an apparent nod to anguished families who have stepped up pressure on authorities not to declare efforts to locate the aircraft completely abandoned.
She said no matter how bad there must be a clue. The statement was released at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur in which a dozen grim-faced next-of-kin held up placards pleading with authorities not to give up the search. “It’s a long wait, so go back to the drawing board”.
It is unclear what steps would be taken once the search was suspended. They also called for a wider base of funding, including from Boeing and other plane and component manufacturers.
The Minister said the families of the victims remained the priority, saying he understood today would be a hard day for them.
“I don’t think I can accept they want to stop searching”. “We will definitely gather to protest it and I have lost confidence to the Malaysian government”. About $135m (£105m) has been spent on the search, which is reportedly the most expensive in aviation history.
“We will continue to cooperate to bring closure to the families”, he said.
He added that the debris found so far could not determine the exact location of the flight.
With rough winter seas delaying the last leg of the search, Mr Liow said completion was expected between October and December.
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Asked if the flaperon found on the shore of La Reunion Island had any indication of controlled ditching, Liow said there has not been any evidence to substantiate the claim.
