MH370: Australia to continue search with Malaysia, China

PETALING JAYA - Australia remains committed to the search for Flight MH370 and will continue to work collaboratively with Malaysia and China, said the Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC).

T he JACC said in a statement on Friday that it would continue with the search operations in service of the families of those on board and the wider travelling public.

According to the JACC, Australia noted the aircraft's disappearance had been officially declared by the Malaysian Government as an accident with all 239 passengers and crew members presumed dead.

"We understand that the families of those on board MH370 are experiencing enormous grief, heightened by not knowing the circumstances under which the aircraft disappeared.

"Providing support to those families, particularly at this difficult time, will continue to be a priority," JACC added.

On Thursday, Civil Aviation Department director-general Datuk Azharuddin Abdul Rahman announced on behalf of the Malaysian Government that the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 was an accident with all passengers and crew presumed to have lost their lives.

The declaration was made in accor­dance with provisions contained in Annex 12 and Annex 13 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation.

Azharuddin acknowledged that such a declaration would be very difficult for the families to accept.

However, he gave the commitment that the declaration did not signal an end to the search for the missing aircraft, which would remain a priority.

"After 327 days (as of Jan 28) and based on all available data as well as circumstances mentioned earlier, survivability in the defined area is highly unlikely," Azharuddin said.

He added that an analysis of all available evidence and the supporting factual information obtained supported the conclusion that MH370 ended its flight in the southern Indian Ocean where it exhausted its fuel.

The Boeing 777-200 aircraft was on a scheduled flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8 last year when it disappeared from the radar 40 minutes after taking off.