Aust shelves MH370 memorial after relatives protest

Plans to erect a memorial honouring the passengers and crew of missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 were shelved by Australia on Sunday after protests by relatives of the victims.

The final resting place of the Boeing 777, which had 239 people on board when it disappeared en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in March 2014, is still unknown despite two massive underwater searches off Australia’s west coast. The Western Australia state and federal governments in 2014 flagged plans to build a monument in Perth, but relatives said they did not want it created until the jet was found. “While some relatives were supportive of the memorial, others had concerns,” the state’s Premier Mark McGowan said in a statement.