How much does it cost to find a missing jetliner? CBS News took a look:

• An exact figure is hard to come by since a lot of the costs – such as the cost of maintaining a ship or paying troops – would have to be paid anyway.
• The search effort has also been valuable training for those responsible for search and rescue operations.
• The US Department of Defense has allocated about $7.6 million to help with the search. So far it has spent $3.3 million.
• Australia is spending half a million dollars a day on one of its search ships alone. To say nothing of general administration and depreciation costs.
• Japan has an $8.8 million budgeted for emergency relief and it is believed that its costs are covered by this budget.
• Malaysia refuses to provide a figure.

Read more about some of the other costs that should be accounted for, how defense cooperation agreements affect costs, and more over here. The Times of India says that $44 million has been spent on the search.

Source: CBS News

Via: Slate