Families want search to continue
PUTRAJAYA: After two previously failed missions, family members of those on board Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 have urged authorities not to stop the search for the ill-fated aircraft.
Voice 370, a group representing the next of kin, said the Malaysian Government should consider any offer by companies that were willing to conduct a deep-water search for the plane on a “no cure, no fee” basis.
“Our desire and only hope is that the search continues and that the plane is found so that such incidents can be prevented in the future.
“We would really like the Government of Malaysia to make it clear that the search for MH370 is not over and that they are open to receiving tenders of a no cure, no fee nature from companies that are adequately equipped to conduct a sea search.
“We believe Malaysia has nothing to lose with a no cure, no fee arrangement, because payment is only made if the plane is found.
“We must remember that millions of people fly every single day. Safety is not something to be taken lightly and I hope the Government seriously considers the implication that this can have on aviation travel,” said Grace Nathan to reporters on behalf of Voice 370.
Grace is the daughter of Flight MH370 passenger Anne Daisy.
Yesterday, the next of kin were briefed by the safety investigation team before its report was released to the public.
Most of the family members expressed disappointment over the report, claiming it provided no closure and that questions remained unanswered on the whereabouts of Flight MH370.
“The plane departed Kuala Lumpur for Beijing on March 8, 2014. It turned back and then disappeared. Where did it go and why did it disappear? We do not know.
“After the release of today’s report, I do not think we are any wiser,” said K.S. Narendran, whose wife was aboard the missing plane.
Intan Maizura Othman, the wife of flight attendant Mohd Hazrin Mohamad Hasnan, said the briefing was “disappointing” for the family members who attended.
“There was nothing new in the report. The safety investigation team said they were not the ones who searched for the plane and were also not the ones with the authority to say if the search would be continued.
“We want to question those people then,” she said.
A three-year search in the Indian Ocean for the plane was called off in January 2017 after no success.
US company Ocean Infinity offered to conduct a search on a “no cure, no fee” basis this year, but the renewed search also turned out to be futile.