Last-ditch £50 million flight MH370 search has now concluded as statement issued

A renewed search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 may have come to an end 12 years after the plane went missing.

227 passengers and 12 crew members on board the Boeing 777 from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing were presumed to have died on 8 March 2014.

MH370 lost contact with air traffic control at 1:19 am over the South China Sea, and investigators say the plane deviated from its planned route and flew west for several hours before disappearing.

Many theories have been put forward, including possible hijacking and the plane being deliberately flown into a 'black hole'.

Despite extensive searches, however, no wreckage has been found apart from several pieces of marine debris.

The latest 28 day search was conducted in 25–28 March last year and in 31 December to 23 January this year by Ocean Infinity.

Families want the search to continue (WANG ZHAO/AFP via Getty Images)

Using £50 million worth of advanced technology and resources, it spanned some 7,571 square kilometers (about 2,923 square miles) of seabed of the Indian Ocean.

If the Southampton-based marine robotics firm, which ended a previous search in 2018, were able to locate significant wreckage, it would have been awarded $70 million (£56 million), according to Malaysia's Transport Minister, Anthony Loke.

"Our responsibility and obligation and commitment is to the next of kin," Loke said.

"We hope this time will be positive, that the wreckage will be found and give closure to the families."

Significant wreckage was never found (Adli Ghazali/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

Sadly, nothing was found.

“The search activities undertaken have not yielded any findings that confirm the location of the aircraft wreckage,” Ocean Infinity said in a statement.

Ocean Infinity have a search contract which runs until June, as the group said the company’s vessel has been redeployed for other work.

It's not likely to return to complete the remaining search areas due to the approaching winter months and deteriorating sea conditions.

The latest search mission was unsuccessful (Mehmet Yaren Bozgun/Anadolu via Getty Images)

“The government pays nothing unless the aircraft is found. Any request by Ocean Infinity to extend the search contract should therefore be granted without hesitation,” it added in a statement.

“If the present search is unsuccessful, we would also urge Malaysia to kindly consider extending similar no find, no fee opportunities to other capable deep sea exploration companies.”

Campaign group Voice370, which represents relatives of passengers and crew, said they want the search to continue.

“A simple addendum extending the contract period without altering the core terms of the agreement would allow the search to continue without delay,” it added.