1st LD: Search for missing Malaysia Airline flight MH370 to be suspended: officials

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.

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.

In a joint communiqué, the three ministers said none of the debris had provided information that positively identified the precise location of the aircraft.

With less than 10,000 square kilometers out of the 120,000 square kilometer high priority search area remaining to be searched, the ministers acknowledged that "the likelihood of finding the aircraft is fading."

"Ministers agreed that should the aircraft not be located in the current search area, and in the absence of credible new evidence leading to the identification of a specific location of the aircraft, the search would not end, but be suspended upon completion of the 120,000 square kilometer search area, " according to the joint communiqué.

But officials said the three governments committed to find the aircraft, stressing that "suspension does not mean the termination of the search."

"Should credible new information emerge which can be used to identify the specific location of the aircraft, consideration will be given in determining next step."

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. Endit