Tripartite nations to reward successful private hunt for MH370

Malaysia, China and Australia, the three countries involved in the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines plane that went missing in 2014, plans to reward any private groups that can find the remains of the aircraft.

The announcement comes after the countries had called off search operations for the aircraft on Tuesday, Efe news reported on Thursday.

"The reward will only be for the successful discovery of the fuselage... The companies will have to bear their own costs and expenses, and they are free to search for the plane anywhere," Malaysian Transport Minister Abdul Aziz Kaprawi said on Wednesday.

He added any private group or individual with relevant experience is welcome to contribute to the search after securing the necessary authorization.

Authorities of the Tripartite - as the group of three countries is known as - said search teams had concluded the unsuccessful hunt for MH370, after combing a 120,000 sq.km area of the Indian Ocean.

Meanwhile on Wednesday, Canberra had announced it might resume the search for the aircraft if there is a fresh and credible lead.

The Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 disappeared on March 8, 2014, forty minutes after taking off from Kuala Lumpur for Beijing, when someone turned off the communication systems and turned the plane around.

Some plane parts that were swept in by currents from the Indian Ocean were recovered from beaches of Reunion, Mozambique, Mauritius, South Africa and the island of Pemba (Zanzibar) in eastern Africa.

--IANS

ksk