Kuala Lumpur: The on-going search for Malaysia Airline flight MH370 is likely to exceed the US$40 million (RM130.9 million) spent to recover the remains of the Air France flight AF447 jet, experts have said.
Scientists from China — whose people make up two-thirds of the 239 people on board the passenger plane missing for 22 days now — speculate that a prolonged search could see the bill hit 10 times higher than that forked out for AF447, the South Morning China Post (SCMP) has reported.
The English-language Hong Kong daily reported France and Brazil had poured out over US$40 million to retrieve the flight recorder from the French plane that crashed en route to Rio de Janeiro from Paris, using sophisticated technology like underwater robots to scour the seabed in search for the wreckage.
Citing a Chinese oceanographer, the broadsheet reported the search for MH370 — now into its fourth week — has been far tougher than that of Air France and could cost more than US$200 million (RM654.5 million) annually to sustain a 26-nation hunt for the Beijing-bound plane whom some suspect may have crashed into the southerly part of the Indian Ocean.
"USD200 million per year is barely enough to maintain the effort," Zhao Chaofang, a scientist at the Ocean University of China in Qingdao, was quoted saying.
International business news agency, Bloomberg, also noted that the inventory of military equipment engaged in the search that began in the South China Sea and has continued deep into the frigid waters fed by the South Pole, has been extensive.
Malaysia has deployed six ships, three helicopters, and two aircraft in the hunt, according to information issued by Australia’s Maritime Authority (AMSA). China has sent 10 ships, three airplanes, and three helicopters. Australia has contributed five ships of its own, including the HMAS Success.
The United Kingdom has dispatched the HMS Echo, a specialised survey vessel, to help search the sea almost 1,600 miles southwest of Perth. India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, and the United Arab Emirates have all sent aircraft to help.
Meanwhile the US, which had set aside a US$4 million (RM13.09 million) for the search, have sent two warships, one state of the art surveillance Poseidon aircraft and Bluefin 21, an underwater surveillance drone capable of operating at depths as low as 14,700 feet to Australia for use in the search.
30/03/14 Syed Jaymal Zahiid/Malay Mail Online
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Scientists from China — whose people make up two-thirds of the 239 people on board the passenger plane missing for 22 days now — speculate that a prolonged search could see the bill hit 10 times higher than that forked out for AF447, the South Morning China Post (SCMP) has reported.
The English-language Hong Kong daily reported France and Brazil had poured out over US$40 million to retrieve the flight recorder from the French plane that crashed en route to Rio de Janeiro from Paris, using sophisticated technology like underwater robots to scour the seabed in search for the wreckage.
Citing a Chinese oceanographer, the broadsheet reported the search for MH370 — now into its fourth week — has been far tougher than that of Air France and could cost more than US$200 million (RM654.5 million) annually to sustain a 26-nation hunt for the Beijing-bound plane whom some suspect may have crashed into the southerly part of the Indian Ocean.
"USD200 million per year is barely enough to maintain the effort," Zhao Chaofang, a scientist at the Ocean University of China in Qingdao, was quoted saying.
International business news agency, Bloomberg, also noted that the inventory of military equipment engaged in the search that began in the South China Sea and has continued deep into the frigid waters fed by the South Pole, has been extensive.
Malaysia has deployed six ships, three helicopters, and two aircraft in the hunt, according to information issued by Australia’s Maritime Authority (AMSA). China has sent 10 ships, three airplanes, and three helicopters. Australia has contributed five ships of its own, including the HMAS Success.
The United Kingdom has dispatched the HMS Echo, a specialised survey vessel, to help search the sea almost 1,600 miles southwest of Perth. India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, and the United Arab Emirates have all sent aircraft to help.
Meanwhile the US, which had set aside a US$4 million (RM13.09 million) for the search, have sent two warships, one state of the art surveillance Poseidon aircraft and Bluefin 21, an underwater surveillance drone capable of operating at depths as low as 14,700 feet to Australia for use in the search.
30/03/14 Syed Jaymal Zahiid/Malay Mail Online
