Search for MH370 restarts after 10 years with £55 million reward for finding wreckage

The search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 is set to restart 10 years on from the incident.

It's hard to believe that it's been over a decade since flight MH370 vanished on its journey from Kuala Lumpar to Beijing on March 8, 2014.

227 passengers and 12 crew members aboard the Boeing 777 were never seen again, making it the saddest mystery in aviation history.

The plane lost contact with air traffic control shortly after takeoff, at 1:19am, over the South China Sea, while investigators believe the aircraft deviated from its planned route, turning west and flying for several hours before vanishing.

Now, a Southampton-based marine robotics firm has announced that it would be resuming its search in a new area.

Ocean Infinity, who took part in a previous search that ended in 2018, has reached an agreement in principle to have a look in the southern Indian Ocean.

The plane was being operated by senior pilot Zaharie Ahmad Shah, 53 who had worked for the airline for three decades (Netflix)

If the company manage to find significant wreckage, they will be awarded $70 million (£56 million), Malaysia's transport minister Anthony Loke has said.

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

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

Relatives of those on board are welcoming the approval of a new search after a $150m (£120m) global search ended in 2017.

"I am so happy for the news... [It] feels like the best Christmas present ever," Jacquita Gonzales, the wife of MH370 inflight supervisor Patrick Gomes, told the New Straits Times.

The search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 is set to restart 10 years on from the incident (How Foo Yeen/Getty Images)

"This announcement stirs mixed emotions - hope, gratitude, and sorrow. After nearly 11 years, the uncertainty and pain of not having answers have been incredibly difficult for us," said Intan Maizura Othaman, whose husband Mohd Hazrin Mohamed Hasnan was a member of the cabin crew.

"I made this commitment during the 10th anniversary of the MH370 remembrance in March 2024," Loke added.

"I am sure this is what the next-of-kin have been waiting for.

"I truly hope that this time around it will turn out positively, and that wreckage can be found to at least provide some answers for the families."

Voice370, the support group for the families of MH370 passengers, also said in a statement: "If these efforts lead to safer air travel for the global public, the search and its successful conclusion will have been profoundly worthwhile.

"We continue to hope that our wait for answers will be met."