Chinese relatives of missing jet passengers protest against Malaysia

Relatives of Chinese passengers on board Flight MH370 scuffled with security personnel as they descended on Malaysia’s embassy in a rare protest, weeping as they demanded answers on the crashed plane.

“Return our relatives,” around 200 family members cried on Tuesday at the gates of the Beijing mission, which was protected by a row of uniformed police and plain clothes security.

The protest came hours after Malaysia’s prime minister announced that the plane crashed in the Indian Ocean after vanishing from civilian radar screens on March 8. 

Bad weather is forcing the suspension of the search for a missing Malaysian jetliner, which authorities have now concluded crashed in the southern Indian Ocean. 

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority says high waves, strong winds and dense clouds are preventing airplanes and ships from searching the area, 2,500 kilometers west of Perth. 

The search for the plane, which had 239 people on board, will be suspended for 24 hours. But officials say it should resume Wednesday, when conditions are expected to improve. 

Late Monday, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said a new analysis of satellite data indicates the plane’s flight “ended” in the remote region, far away from any land or airstrip. 

Malaysian authorities provided few other details at a news conference Tuesday, further angering relatives of those missing, some of whom protested in Beijing.

Families accused Malaysian authorities of concealing information, cheating the families and wasting valuable time during the search.

Some families were also notified via text message, which was deemed insensitive. A Malaysia Airlines spokeswoman denied the texting had been insensitive, saying counsellors had been with relatives gathered at hotels in Kuala Lumpur and Beijing to offer support.

Malaysian Airlines CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya acknowledged “we do not know why, (and) we do not know how” the tragedy occurred. But he said there is no evidence of any survivors. 

Malaysian authorities have given no exact location for the suspected crash and no wreckage has been found, though satellite photos and surveillance aircraft have spotted possible debris.

Australian Defense Minister David Johnston said Malaysia’s analysis is the “best information we’ve got right now.” But he cautioned the flight remains “a mystery and until we recover and positively identify a piece of debris, virtually everything is speculation.”

Two-thirds of the plane’s passengers were Chinese. Many of their family members accuse the Malaysian government of mishandling the rescue effort and misleading the public.

The Chinese government has also accused Malaysia of not providing complete information in its search for the plane.

A final conclusion about what happened on flight MH370 likely cannot be made until the plane’s flight data recorder, or “black box” is located. 

The U.S. Navy on Monday said it is sending a black box detector to aid in the search for the plane. The Navy says the “Towed Pinger Locator” could detect the missing airplane’s black box to a depth of about 6,100 meters. 

The black box recorder contains detailed information about what takes place on an aircraft.

The Malaysia Airlines passenger jet disappeared March 8 while on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. There has been little evidence of what happened to the jet.

Investigators are not ruling out anything, including catastrophic mechanical failure, pilot sabotage or terrorism.

In Malaysia, newspapers ran black or darkened front pages in tribute to those now believed to have died.

Source: THE TIMES OF EARTH and Agencies