Malaysia remains hopeful of finding missing MH370

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said Tuesday that his country remains hopeful of finding Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 two years after the plane went missing.

The shadow of a Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) P3 Orion maritime search aircraft can be seen on low-level clouds as it flies over the southern Indian Ocean looking for missing Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 March 31, 2014. [Photo/Agencies]

Malaysian lawmakers observed a moment of silence as the country marks the two-year anniversary of the missing of the Boeing 777, which disappeared on March 8, 2014 en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board, most of them being Chinese nationals.

A joint search effort in the southern Indian Ocean, where the plane presumably ended its journey, has yet to reveal its whereabouts after covering some 75 percent of the 120,000 square kilometer search area. The search is expected to be completed later this year.

Najib said his country remains hopeful that the plane could be found in the search area.

"The disappearance of MH370 was without precedent, and the search has been the most challenging in aviation history," Najib said in a statement.

"Amidst some of the world's most inhospitable terrain - at depths of up to six kilometers, across underwater mountain ranges, and in the world's fastest currents - the search team has been working tirelessly to find MH370's resting place," he said.

Malaysia, Australia and China will hold a tripartite meeting to determine the next step if the current search fails to find the plane, said the prime minister.

"We remain committed to doing everything within our means to solving what is an agonising mystery for the loved ones of those who were lost," he added.

The only confirmed debris from MH370 so far was a wing part called flaperon discovered in the French overseas Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean last year. Malaysian and Australian authorities are verifying two more suspected debris, found in the Reunion Island and nearby African country of Mozambique respectively in the past week.