MH370 still missing: Latest search ends after scanning 15,000 square kilometers, still no clues about 239 people on board

The latest search for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 has ended without any evidence of the missing aircraft, Malaysia’s transport ministry said on Sunday, the 12th anniversary of the flight’s disappearance.The disappearance of the Boeing 777 from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014, with 239 people on board, remains one of the aviation world’s most enduring mysteries.The latest search, which began in December and covered about 15,000 square kilometers of seabed, failed to find the plane, Malaysia’s Transport Ministry said in a statement.The ministry said those efforts “have not resulted in any findings confirming the location of the wreckage.”The search was conducted by Ocean Infinity, an exploration company based in the United Kingdom and the United States. The company ended its mission on January 23 after weeks of using advanced underwater technology to scan the seafloor.To try to find the missing plane, Ocean Infinity deployed autonomous underwater drones capable of diving to depths of 6,000 meters (20,000 feet).The disappearance of MH370 triggered the largest search effort in aviation history, but the plane, passengers and flight recorders have not been found.The plane carried passengers from multiple countries, two-thirds of whom were Chinese citizens. Others include Malaysians, Indonesians and Australians, as well as citizens of India, the United States, the Netherlands and France.In an open letter published on Sunday, the anniversary of the plane’s disappearance, family members of the Chinese passengers expressed frustration at the lack of communication about the latest search operation.“We understand the difficulties of the search,” the relatives said in a joint open letter to Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, in which they thanked him for launching the search.“However, the family has not received any further search briefings since January 15 this year.”The families also said they had made multiple attempts to contact authorities without success.“We have contacted the Malaysian Ministry of Transport through Malaysia Airlines and the Chinese government several times over the past two months, but have received no response,” they said.They also described the emotional toll the prolonged uncertainty has taken on relatives on board.“For 12 years we have had very little real psychological support.”“We ask for very little: just to be seen, to be heard, to be treated as individuals with emotion and dignity.”Relatives of the Chinese passengers are expected to meet with Chinese foreign ministry officials on Monday in an annual meeting on the anniversary of the flight’s disappearance. They are also expected to visit the Malaysian Embassy in Beijing to deliver a letter to Prime Minister Anwar.Ocean Infinity previously conducted an unsuccessful search for the aircraft in 2018. Australia had previously led a three-year, multinational search that ended in January 2017 without finding the plane.More than a decade after MH370 disappeared, the fate of the plane and the 239 passengers on board remains unknown.