Tag: mh370
Malaysia Confirms Plane Debris Is From Flight MH370

Malaysia Confirms Plane Debris Is From Flight MH370

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) — Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak confirmed on early on Thursday that a Boeing 777 wing segment discovered in the Indian Ocean island of Reunion is from the missing Flight MH370, the first real breakthrough in the search for the plane that disappeared 17 months ago.

“The international team of experts have conclusively confirmed that the aircraft debris found on Reunion Island is indeed from MH370,” Najib said in a televised statement.

Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 disappeared in March last year en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 passengers and crew on board.

(Reporting By Al-Zaquan Amer Hamzah; Editing By Praveen Menon)

Photo: Debris that has washed onto the Jamaique beach in Saint-Denis is seen on the shoreline of French Indian Ocean island of La Reunion, August 3, 2015. (REUTERS/Jacky Naegelen)

MH370 Relatives Reject Malaysian Conclusions On Plane

MH370 Relatives Reject Malaysian Conclusions On Plane

Kuala Lumpur (AFP) – Relatives of flight MH370 passengers have denounced the Malaysian government’s suggestion that it would soon look into issuing death certificates for those on board despite no proof yet of what happened to the plane.

The statement, issued in response to a weekend briefing that Malaysian officials gave to families in Kuala Lumpur, also called for a review of satellite data that Malaysia says indicates the plane likely crashed somewhere in the Indian Ocean.

“We, the families of MH370, believe that until they have conclusive proof that the plane crashed with no survivors, they have no right to attempt to settle this case with the issuance of death certificates and final payoffs,” said the statement by the “United Families of MH370.”

In Sunday’s briefing, a Malaysian official said the government would look into a timetable for issuing death certificates for passengers on the Malaysia Airlines flight, which are required for families to seek insurance payments, settle debts and address a range of other issues.

Deputy Foreign Minister Hamzah Zainudin also asked relatives in the meeting to submit a proposal for government financial assistance for families as the MH370 search wears on.

But relatives, who have repeatedly accused the government and national airline of botching a response to the plane’s disappearance and withholding information, said Malaysian authorities were playing an agonising “cat and mouse game” over the fate of their loved ones.

“WE ARE IN UTTER OUTRAGE, DESPAIR AND SHOCK!” the statement said, using bold caps.

Malaysian officials could not immediately be reached to comment. The government and airline deny they are hiding anything.

The Boeing 777 went missing March 8 en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people aboard.

Malaysia says satellite data indicates the plane crashed in the remote Indian Ocean but no proof has been found despite an intensive multi-nation sea search.

Demanding hard evidence, some vocal relatives have repeatedly said they were unconvinced by Malaysia’s conclusions on the data analysis, performed by British satellite communications firm Inmarsat.

“They have failed to share why they would accept a single source (Inmarsat) for analysis utilising a never before attempted method, as their sole grounds for determining that the plane is under the water and all lives lost,” the families said.

The statement said they requested an independent peer review, but the suggestion was rejected on grounds Inmarsat’s data was under privacy protections.

In the Sunday meeting, “not a single one of our questions was answered,” it added.

A public opinion poll published last week found that more than half of Malaysians believe their scandal-prone government — which has controlled the country for 57 years — is hiding the full truth on MH370.

Shen Bohan/Xinhua/Zuma Press/MCT

Families Of Malaysia Jet Passengers Protest In Beijing

Families Of Malaysia Jet Passengers Protest In Beijing

By Barbara Demick, Los Angeles Times

BEIJING — Hundreds of relatives of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 passengers marched on the Malaysian embassy in Beijing Tuesday, rejecting the government’s conclusion that the flight crashed into the Indian Ocean with no survivors.

The rare public protest in China appeared to have the support of the Chinese government, which provided the buses to transport family members, according to one relative.

At the same time, Beijing took pains to keep the protest under control, girding the embassy with military police, city cops and undercover security who scuffled with relatives trying to break through the security cordon to speak to the press. Many wore white t-shirts reading, in English, “Pray for MH370.”

“We want our families. We want the truth,” read hand-lettered signs.

A 30-year-old engineer who pushed through the security to speak to the press said that families were not willing to give up hope until debris of the plane is found.

“We are realistic. We know that with each passing day, the chance of our family coming back alive are slimmer, but we still need to know more,” said Wang Zhen, whose parents were both on the flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

Malaysia announced late Monday night that “beyond a reasonable doubt” there were no survivors from the March 8 flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing and that it has crashed off the coast of Australia.

But Australian officials appeared to publicly dispute the Malaysian conclusion as well.

“This is a mystery,” defense minister David Johnston told reporters Tuesday at Pearce Airbase. “Until we recover and positively identify a piece of debris — all is speculation.”

Tens of thousands of Chinese called for a boycott of Malaysian products. A poll on the popular Sina Weibo site found that 77 percent of Chinese who responded would reconsider plans to travel to Malaysia as a result of the crash.

The wait for definitive answers could take longer than expected because of gale-force winds off the Australian coast, which forced search teams to suspend flights over the area. There had been hopes that objects spotted by airplanes on Monday could be retrieved and analyzed, perhaps putting an end to the 18-day old mystery.

Australian Air Marshal Mark Binskin gave a grim assessment of the difficulties of locating the wreckage in the vast, deep southern Indian Ocean, saying it would more difficult than finding a “needle in a haystack.”

“We’re still trying to define where the haystack is,” he told reporters.

The Malaysian government’s conclusion that the plane crashed in the Indian Ocean is based on a technical analysis of satellite data by the British-firm Inmarsat showing that the plane was last heard from over the Indian Ocean, a remote area with no possible landing sites.

Beijing on Tuesday asked that the Malaysian government release the satellite data.

“We demand the Malaysian side to make clear the specific basis on which they come to this judgment,” Deputy Chinese Foreign Minister Xie Hangsheng was quoted by state media saying after an emergency meeting with Malaysian ambassador Iskandar Bin Sarudin.

The Chinese government kept up a barrage of attacks against Malaysia, with an editorial in the official New China News Agency, saying its declaration that the plane was lost was “clumsily conceived and sadly, even more poorly executed.”

Some Chinese families complained that they first heard the announcement through text messages Monday night that were only in English.

At Beijing’s Lido Hotel, where families have been waiting for answers, a middle-aged man smoking outside with other men, said they hoped for the Chinese government to put pressure on Malaysia.

“It’s good that we protested. Our government can only get more involved now. It is better,” said the man, who refused to give his name.

AFP photo