MH370 hunt likely to end mid-June: official

KUALA LUMPUR: A new hunt for flight MH370 is expected to end by mid-June, Malaysian authorities said Saturday, as families marked four years since the disappearance of the plane amid renewed hope. The Malaysia Airlines jet disappeared on March 8, 2014 with 239 people — mostly from China — on board, en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. No sign of the plane was found in a 120,000 square kilometre (46,000 square mile) sea search zone and the Australian-led hunt, the largest in aviation history, was suspended in January last year. But the Malaysian government struck a “no find, no fee” deal with exploration firm Ocean Infinity to resume the search in an area north of the original zone, that scientists now believe is the likeliest crash site. The hunt restarted in January, with a research vessel deploying eight high-tech drones to scour the seabed. Officials had said the search would last a maximum of 90 days. Speaking as families marked four years since the plane disappeared in the Malaysian capital, the country´s civil aviation chief Azharuddin Abdul Rahman said that this would be spread over several months.