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Malaysia offering undisclosed reward to find MH370

By Andrew V. Pestano
The Australian Defense Vessel Ocean Shield was among the ships searching for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which has been missing since March 2014. Australia, China and Malaysia suspended the search for the craft on Tuesday. Malaysia on Thursday said it was offering a reward to those who help find MH370 -- "aviation's greatest mystery." File photo by Bradley Darvill/Australian Defense Force/UPI
The Australian Defense Vessel Ocean Shield was among the ships searching for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which has been missing since March 2014. Australia, China and Malaysia suspended the search for the craft on Tuesday. Malaysia on Thursday said it was offering a reward to those who help find MH370 -- "aviation's greatest mystery." File photo by Bradley Darvill/Australian Defense Force/UPI | License Photo

Jan. 20 (UPI) -- Malaysia's Ministry of Transport said the government is offering a reward for those who solve "aviation's greatest mystery" -- the location of missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370.

The Transport Ministry's announcement comes after Malaysia, Australia and China on Tuesday announced the search for MH370 was indefinitely suspended. The sum of the reward was not revealed.

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"Malaysia has opened the gates for private entities to participate in the search for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370," the Transport Ministry said in a statement. "As Kuala Lumpur, Canberra and Beijing officially called off the exhaustive three-year search for the Boeing 777-200ER, which went missing with 239 people on board, the Malaysian government yesterday said it welcomed anyone with the expertise to try to solve 'aviation's greatest mystery.'"

Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Abdul Aziz Kaprawi said private parties that have the right expertise, such as deep-sea salvage operators, can search for MH370.

The official search by the governments could be revived if a "strong new lead" is found.

"The reward will only be for the successful discovery of the fuselage ... The companies will have to bear their own costs and expenses, and they are free to search for the plane anywhere," the deputy transport minister said.

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MH370 disappeared on March 8, 2014, after leaving Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia en route to Beijing with 227 passengers and 12 crew members on board. The pilots last communicated with air traffic control 38 minutes after takeoff. Three minutes later, the plane disappeared from air traffic controllers' radar screens.

Malaysian authorities concluded the flight had ended in the Indian Ocean, but confirmed MH370 debris was not found until 2015 when a right wing flaperon was discovered on Reunion Island, east of Madagascar.

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