New hope for MH370

A US exploration company has offered to take on the search for flight MH370 which was suspended earlier this year, the firm and a Malaysian minister said Thursday, offering new hope to families of the missing.

No trace of the Boeing 777, which disappeared in March 2014 with 239 people on board, was found during a lengthy deep sea hunt in the southern Indian Ocean off western Australia, with the search called off in January.

Ocean Infinity, a seabed exploration firm which says it has the world's largest and most advanced commercial fleet of underwater vehicles for conducting searches, said it had proposed continuing the hunt.

"I can confirm that we have made an offer," a spokesman said in an emailed statement to AFP, without giving further details.

Malaysia's Deputy Transport Minister Aziz Kaprawi confirmed a company had made an approach and was only asking for payment in the event they find the plane.

He said the firm had made a "good offer", and added negotiations were ongoing with the country's Department of Civil Aviation.

"The company is demanding payment in the event the wreckage is found," he told AFP.

He added that the agreement of Australia and China would be needed for a deal to be reached. China, where most of the passengers came from, and Australia were both involved in the search.

Ocean Infinity has a fleet of six underwater vehicles which can collect seabed data at a depth of 6,000 metres (19,700 feet).