Malaysia has extended its deal with deep-sea exploration firm Ocean Infinity to conduct an underwater search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 by one year.

The Boeing 777 aircraft was carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew when it vanished en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in 2014, becoming one of the world’s enduring aviation mysteries.

Ocean Infinity had carried out searches for the plane up until 2018. Last year, it signed a new deal with Malaysia to resume the hunt in an area covering 15,000 sq km, with the firm to be paid $70 million only if it finds the wreckage.

The extension of the deal is for the 12 months from July 1 this year to June 30, 2027, Malaysia’s Transport Minister Anthony Loke said in a statement.

“This decision is a manifestation of the government’s continuous and unwavering commitment to provide a closure for the next of kin of the passengers aboard flight MH370,” he said.

Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.