The search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 is to be resumed by a US-based exploration firm, an airline support group has told the families of passengers.
Ocean Infinity will begin searching for the missing Boeing 777 aircraft which disappeared with 239 people aboard, en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in March 2014.
Investigators from Australia, China and Malaysia ended one of the largest surface and underwater searches in aviation history last January without recovering the plane.
The operation covered 46,332 sq miles at an estimated cost of around £120m before it was suspended after 1,046 days.
Several pieces of aircraft debris have been recovered, but the passenger jet's final resting place remains a mystery.
Ocean Infinity will now resume the search, according to an email sent to the MH Family Support Centre by the Malaysian government.
The deal was made on a “no cure, no fee” basis, meaning the company will only be paid if plane is recovered.
A spokesperson for the government did not confirm whether an email had been sent out to families, but said more details of the deal would be available in the coming weeks.
Ocean Infinity has not yet responded to requests for comment, but the company’s vessel, Seabed Constructor, is reportedly on its way to Australia from Durban, South Africa.
The plane's disappearance is one of the greatest mysteries in aviation history.
But while a number of theories have been suggested for its disappearance, they will remain speculation until it is recovered.
