A new search for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 is underway, but experts have issued stark warnings about the dangerous conditions facing the operation.
Former Australian naval officer Peter Waring, who participated in the initial search for the aircraft, has cautioned that the mission could quickly become disastrous.
The search area, located approximately 1,500 kilometres west of Perth in the Indian Ocean, presents treacherous conditions that could jeopardise the entire operation.
"There's absolutely no shelter out there, and there's nowhere to hide," Waring told Australia's 60 Minutes programme on Sunday night.
A new search for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 is underway, but experts have issued stark warnings about the dangerous conditions facing the operation
Getty/ GB News
He added: "You're six or seven days away from the nearest port, which is Perth. These are dangerous conditions."
His most concerning warning highlighted the potential for rapid deterioration of the situation: "If something goes wrong, it will turn catastrophic very, very quickly."
Waring described the search location as offering no protection from the harsh elements of the Indian Ocean.
British marine robotics company Ocean Infinity has begun a seabed search in what may be the final attempt to find the wreckage.
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Ocean Infinity's deep-water support vessel Armada 7806 arrived at a new search zone in the Indian Ocean, 1,200 miles off Perth
GB NEWSTheir deep-water support vessel, Armada 7806, arrived at the new search zone over the weekend. Autonomous underwater vehicles have been deployed and are now scanning the ocean floor. The vessels are operated from Ocean Infinity's Southampton base via satellite link.
Waring praised the technology being used, calling it "as big a transition in maritime technology as the movement from sail to steam in the 1800s."
Flight MH370 departed from Kuala Lumpur for Beijing on March 8, 2014, carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew members.
The aircraft's transponder was switched off at 1.21am as it entered Vietnamese airspace over the South China Sea. Malaysian military lost contact with the plane over the Andaman Sea at 2.22am, with the last satellite signal received at 8.11am.
The initial search covered three million square kilometres above water and more than 120,000 square kilometres underwater. Over the past decade, fragments of the plane have been discovered near Tanzania and Mozambique.
Craig Wallace, an electrical engineer from Deep Sea Vision who worked on the new technology, echoed these concerns about the search conditions.
"Make no mistakes, the Indian Ocean that they're working in is among the worst in the world," he warned.
Despite previous unsuccessful attempts, including Ocean Infinity's own effort in 2018, the search continues with more advanced technology.
The mystery of MH370 has persisted for 11 years, with Waring hoping "this time that we find the aircraft and that we can put it all to rest."
