Chinese relatives of passengers on a missing Malaysia Airlines flight protested Thursday outside the carrier's office, urging Malaysia to rescind a declaration that all on board have perished.
Flight 370, which disappeared last March 8 while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, is believed to have crashed in the southern Indian Ocean off western Australia. A search is ongoing but no confirmed debris has been found.
Malaysia's government on Jan. 29 formally declared the plane an accident and said all 239 people on board were presumed dead, paving the way for compensation claims. It upset victims' families, who are still waiting for evidence of the plane's fate.
"I cannot accept it. Where is the debris? Where are the bodies? Nothing is found, why declare it an accident?" said Wang Rung Xiang, 58. Her only son, Hou Bo, 35, was on the plane.
"My daughter is still alive," another relative wailed, as she was consoled by others.
Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said Thursday that the declaration was intended to allow families to move on and assured the relatives that the international search will continue.
Fifteen Chinese relatives of passengers arrived Wednesday in Malaysia to demand answers, and more are expected to arrive before the Lunar New Year. Most of the passengers were from China.
Grace Subathirai, whose mother was travelling to Beijing to meet up with her husband, said her family had been offered $US50,000 from the airline, but would not be accept it.
"I don't know about the value of a life - I mean, how do you quantify someone who you love so much in terms of money? I don't think it's possible," she said.
"Accepting it would be accepting the fate of all the passengers on board and accepting that they have died.
"We are not ready to accept that without any proof."
For some of the families of those on board the statement has not brought the closure it was supposed to, and many are choosing to reject compensation offers.
Chinese relatives have descended on the headquarters of Malaysia Airlines in Kuala Lumpur, carrying signs reading 'MH370 Cry for Truth' and 'Today it's us, tomorrow it could be you'.
"Malaysia announced MH370 was lost and nobody could have survived," Weng Wan Cheng, the father of missing passenger said.
"There's been no proof to justify that."
Three representatives from the group later met with the airline's management.
The airline said in a statement that it is in constant communication with victims' families, but is "in no position to provide any further clarification or technical information" at this time on the airplane's fate.
Friday 13 February 2015
http://www.cctv-america.com/2015/02/12/chinese-relatives-protest-declaration-all-perished-on-missing-flight-mh370
0 comments:
Post a Comment