Kuala Lumpur (VNA) – Australia, China and Malaysia have agreed that the search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 will be ended by the middle of this year, according tꦆo a statement released by the Australian Transportation Safety Bureau.

In the absence of credible new information that leads to the identification of a specific location of the aircraft, all three governments had agreed that there will be no further expansion of the search area, Malaysia ’s New Straits Times quoted the statement as saying. The current search for missing airplane is carried out with more than 85,000 square kilometres of the South Indian Ocean scoured so far. There are currently three vessels conducting the search mission. Search vessel Fugro Discovery is expected to arrive back at the search area on February 26, while Havila Harmony is currently on weather standby. The Chinese vessel Dong Hai Jiu 101 departed from Fremantle in Australia for the search on February 21, and is expected to arrive at the search area on February 26. In another development, Malaysia Airlines reiterated its commitment of “fair and equitable compensation” to the families of those on board the missing flight. The airline urged the families to file their claims before the two-year limitation period under the Montreal Convention, which in the case of MH370 ends on March 8, 2016. Malaysian Airlines flight MH370, carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew members, disappeared on March 8, 2014 en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing . In January 2015, the Malaysian Government officially announced that the disappearance of the airplane was an accident. All the passengers and crew members were declared dead.-VNA