Malaysia, Australia and China have announced that the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 will be suspended if searchers are unsuccessful in finding the aircraft in the area officials are currently focusing their efforts on, Reuters reported.
"In the absence of new credible evidence, Malaysia, Australia and China have collectively agreed to suspend the search upon completion of the 120,000 square-kilometer search," Malaysian transport minister Liow Tiong Lai said in a statement from all three nations during a news conference.
MH370 was traveling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing and carrying 239 passengers and crew when it disappeared on March 8, 2014. Since then approximately $135 million has gone toward underwater search efforts spanning 46,332 square miles in the southern Indian Ocean, per Reuters.
[READMORE] READ MORE: Are They Looking In The Right Place for MH370? [/READMORE]
Currently, less than 3,860 square miles are left to be searched before the search will be suspended.
Even if the search is ultimately suspended, officials wouldn't rule out the possibility of restarting the hunt for the missing aircraft in the future.
[READMORE] READ MORE: Has More MH370 Debris Just Been Found? [/READMORE]
"Should credible new information emerge which can be used to identify the specific location of the aircraft, consideration will be given in determining next steps," the ministers' statement added.
Although pieces of MH370 have been discovered after washing up on shore in Africa, the plane's main wreckage has eluded searchers over the course of the more than two-year-long hunt.
What's more, the debris hasn't aided searchers in their effort to locate the rest of the aircraft.
While the flight's disappearance remains a mystery, investigators believe that the plane was intentionally flown thousands of miles off course before it eventually crashed somewhere over the southern Indian Ocean near Australia. However Malaysian officials revealed last year that investigations into MH370's pilots and crew failed to turn up anything suspicious.
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