Search for missing MH370 to end in two weeks

Kuala Lumpur, Jan 6 (IANS) Search operations for the missing Malaysian Airlines plane MH370 is set to end in two weeks and countries involved in the search must decide whether to continue or not, Malaysia's Transport Minister said on Friday.

Liow Tiong Sai said the decision of whether or not to extend the search beyond the 120,000 sq km area of the Indian Ocean covered till now will be taken before the end of January, Efe news reported.

"We are in the final lap. The search will be completed in the next two weeks, then after that we will let people know," Liow told the media.

On December 30, the team of experts behind the combing operations recommended expanding the search area and continue the search in other areas of the Ocean where the Boeing 777 is believed to have crashed.

The Beijing-bound MH370 had disappeared on March 8, 2014, just 40 minutes after taking off from Kuala Lumpur, with 239 people on board, allegedly after someone turned off its communication systems.

So far, debris of the aircraft have been recovered from beaches in Reunion Island, Mozambique, Mauritius, South Africa and the French island of Rodrigues.