Australia: hunt for missing plane may be called off

Australia's Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss has said the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 cannot go on forever, and discussions are already underway between Australia, China and Malaysia as to whether to call off the hunt within weeks.

"For many of the families onboard, they won't have closure unless they have certain knowledge that the aircraft's been located and perhaps their loved ones' remains have been recovered and that is the very strong feeling of many of the families on board. And, we would like to be able to do what we can to, for them to have that kind of closure. But, we can't go on forever and eventually a judgement will have to be made." Said Warren Truss, Australian Deputy Prime Minister.

No trace has been found of the Boeing 777 aircraft, which disappeared one year ago this week, carrying 239 passengers and crew shortly after taking off from the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur, bound for Beijing. More than two dozen countries have been involved in the air, sea and underwater search for the missing plane. The current phase is focused on the sea floor about 1,600 km west of the Australian city of Perth. Experts say the search of a rugged 60,000-sq-km patch of sea floor, which experts believe is the plane's most likely resting place, will likely be finished by May.