Missing Plane Found? Malaysian Airlines Flight MH 370 Search Rumors Untrue, New Phase Beginning

Despite some online rumors recently swirling that Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 could have been found, official reports are confirming that the search is still very much on, with Malaysia Defense Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein reportedly heading to Australia at end of August to oversee the ongoing search.

The minister is currently waiting for an update on the current position of KD Mutiara and Bunga MAS 5, the official ships of the Royal Malaysian Navy.

Hishammuddin has looked to reassure the families of the passengers and crew of the missing plane that they are still closely monitoring the search operations progress and will continue their focus to find the missing plane.

MH370 is believed to have crashed into the southern Indian Ocean (west of Australia).

Reports state that the Dutch company, Fugro, will take over the next phase of the search operations beginning September of this year. Fugro will use two ships in their search operations. It is reported that these ships are equipped with deep-water vehicles, multibeam echo sounders, side-scan sonar, and a couple of useful machines to guarantee the efficiency of their planned operations.

The search strategy, as formulated by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, will be development before the next phase officially begins next month. According to the bureau, they are still uncertain on how deep the sea search will go, but they have been collaborating with Fugro to finalize the day-to-day operations plan for the next phase.

Meanwhile, with the MH17 crash, Hishammuddin said that the arrival of the 16 sets of remains of the victims had been arranged by the government. The remains were expected to arrive on August 22 in the federal capital coming from Amsterdam, Holland.