The ongoing search for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 by US-based firm Ocean Infinity is expected to end by mid-June.

An official from Malaysian authorities has revealed the development, as families of the passengers onboard the missing plane observed four years since the disappearance of the aircraft, reported Reuters.

The Malaysia Airlines-operated Boeing 777 aircraft disappeared in March 2014 with 239 people aboard, en route to Beijing, China, from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

A search operation across 120,000km² of the sea was carried out by the Governments of Australia, China, and Malaysia, but the hunt had gone futile, prompting the authorities to suspend the search in January last year.

“The search is based on a ‘no find, no fee’ deal, meaning Ocean Infinity will only receive the cost of the operation if they find the wreckage of the plane.”

However, this January, the Malaysian government approved a request made by Ocean Infinity for a fresh round of search operations north of the original zone to find debris of the MH370 aircraft.

The search is based on a ‘no find, no fee’ deal, meaning Ocean Infinity will only receive the cost of the operation if they find the wreckage of the plane.

Following the deal, the company deployed a research vessel in January, which set out eight drones to scour the seabed during a 90-day operation.

Malaysia civil aviation chief Azharuddin Abdul Rahman was quoted by Associated Press as saying: “The whole world, including the next of kin, have [new] hope to find the plane for closure.

“For the aviation world, we want to know what exactly happened to the plane.”

Rahman further added that the hunt would spread over several months, as the search vessel has to stop to refuel in Australia.