KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- The search area for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 in the Indian Ocean will be doubled if the jetliner is not found by May, officials said Thursday, affirming their commitment not to give up until it is found.
Malaysian Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said that Malaysia, Australia and China, which are leading the hunt for the Boeing 777 that disappeared on March 8 last year, are "committed to the search."
He told reporters after meeting with his counterparts from the other two countries that so far 61 percent of the 23,000-square-mile search area has been scoured off Australia's west coast. The remaining 39 percent will be searched by the end of May, he said.
"If the aircraft is not found within the [23,000 square miles], we have collectively decided to extend the search to another [23,000 square miles] within the highest probability area," he said. However, searchers are hopeful that they can find the plane in the current search area, he said.
The announcement removes some ambiguity about the future of the search, as it was never made clear what would happen if the plane is not found.
Liow said the two areas together would cover 95 percent of the Indian Ocean flight path of the plane, which disappeared while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board, most of them Chinese. It dropped off radars, and investigators using satellite data later determined it made a series of turns and flew in a direction opposite from its original heading before crashing into the Indian Ocean.
"We are confident we are searching in the right area," Warren Truss, Australian deputy prime minister and transport minister, said at the news conference, alongside Liow. "We are confident we have the best search equipment ... if the plane is in the area, we will find it."
In the first phase, $93.6 million was spent by Australia and Malaysia, split equally, and Liow said the next phase is estimated to cost $39 million. The costs are lower in part because the vessels and equipment already are in place.
"Australia and Malaysia have been sharing the cost and we will continue to do that," Truss said. "We are confident we will be able to fund whatever is necessary."
The two ministers said they expect the second phase to last until the end of 2015, but a subsequent statement said it could take up to a year. Bad weather during the Southern Hemisphere's coming winter and rough, rugged terrain under the remote seas could hinder the search and cause delays.
The statement issued after the meeting said the ministers also agreed on plans for recovery activities, including securing evidence, in the event the aircraft is found, but it gave no details.
In late January, Malaysia's government formally declared the plane's disappearance an accident and said all those on board were presumed dead. A comprehensive report into the disappearance found no significant anomalies in the flight, except that the battery of the locator beacon for the plane's data recorder had expired more than a year before the jet vanished.
That still does not explain what caused the plane to veer so far off course, in what has become aviation's biggest mystery. At the same time, the relatives of the dead have had no closure, and many still believe that their loved ones may be alive, as conspiracy theories thrive, including one that the plane was hijacked and landed somewhere safely.
One theory also has the plane flying west to Maldives. Truss said the plane may have had enough fuel to reach Maldives but it would have been impossible for it to be in the reported area in daylight and not be seen by anyone. Also, the flight path to Maldives would be inconsistent with satellite and radar data.
"It is not considered a likely possibility," he said.
China's transport minister, Yang Chuantang, said China may contribute vessels and other assets in the next search phase.
"We will marshal some physical assets including vessels to participate in the search," he said. "We will not waver in our commitment to continue the search until we find the plane and resolve the mystery."
A Section on 04/17/2015