A fresh deep-sea operation to locate the wreckage of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 has ended without success, Malaysian authorities confirmed on Sunday, exactly 12 years after the aircraft vanished.
The Boeing 777 dropped off radar screens shortly after leaving Kuala Lumpur International Airport bound for Beijing on March 8 2014, with 227 passengers and 12 crew members on board.
Malaysia's Air Accident Investigation Bureau announced that Ocean Infinity, the exploration company tasked with scouring the Indian Ocean floor, completed 28 days of searching across more than 7,500 square kilometres of seabed.
However, investigators failed to discover any trace of the missing jet.
The disappearance remains among the most baffling aviation mysteries in history.
Ocean Infinity had been operating under a "no find, no fee" arrangement with the Malaysian government, meaning the company would receive $70million (£52million) only upon successfully locating the wreckage.
The search was conducted in two phases, both hampered by challenging weather and difficult sea conditions in the southern Indian Ocean.
The second phase concluded on January 23, with operations covering approximately 2,900 square miles of ocean floor.
Families of MH370 have been campaigning for years | GettyThis was not Ocean Infinity's first attempt to find the aircraft, having previously undertaken searches that also failed to uncover any significant debris.
Multiple search efforts in the southern Indian Ocean over the past dozen years have all proved unsuccessful in solving the mystery of what happened to the flight.
Voice370, the group representing relatives of those aboard the doomed flight, has called on the Malaysian government to extend its agreement with Ocean Infinity before the contract expires in June.
Campaigners expressed concern that a third search phase is unlikely to commence before the deadline due to approaching winter months in the southern hemisphere, which would bring worsening sea conditions.
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Map of areas in which MH370 could have gone missing | GB NEWS"A simple addendum extending the contract period without altering the core terms of the agreement would allow the search to continue without delay," Voice370 stated.
The families' group also urged authorities to offer the same "no find, no fee" terms to other exploration companies willing to join the hunt for the missing aircraft.
Malaysian investigators released a report in 2018 examining the circumstances surrounding the flight's disappearance, though it reached no definitive conclusion about what occurred.
The inquiry did not exclude the possibility that someone deliberately diverted the aircraft from its intended route.
The search for the missing MH370 aircraft continues | GETTYMalaysian officials stated they "remain committed to keeping the families informed and will continue to provide updates as appropriate".
The fate of MH370 has prompted numerous search operations across vast stretches of the Indian Ocean since 2014.
However, none have succeeded in recovering the main wreckage or providing answers to the families of the 239 people who were on board.
The mystery of what befell the aircraft continues to confound aviation experts and investigators alike.