Families aching for closure after their relatives disappeared aboard Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 last year vented their deep frustration Thursday at conflicting signals from Malaysia and France over whether the finding of a plane part had been confirmed.
Advertisement
And an Australian agency helping coordinate the search for the missing airliner said Wednesday, the day before Malaysia announced the discovery of new items, that there was no indication so far of any more aircraft debris.
Most of those on the plane were Chinese and many still refuse to believe their loved ones are dead – despite Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak’s announcement that wreckage found on Reunion island in the Indian Ocean was from the jet.
France is adding airplanes, helicopters and ships, including French Marine units, to its search for the remains of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, the government in Paris reported Friday. “We expect and hope that there would be more objects to be found which would be able to help resolve this mystery”. MH370 had deviated from its flight path between Malaysian and Vietnamese radar, turned west and then northwest-ward over Malaysian and Thai airspace, before seemingly heading out to the southern Indian Ocean, where it is believed to have crashed.
The joint statement by the French ministers of defense, transport and overseas territories said France recognized the pain for the families, adding it would play its full part in global efforts to “shed light on this tragedy.” “They have our deepest sympathy and prayers”.
Frustrated by seemingly mixed messages from the Malaysian and French governments over whether debris definitely linked to the missing Boeing 777, the 50-strong group attempted to gain entry to the building to demand an explanation from officials.
Chinese relatives staged a protest outside the airline’s Beijing offices.
He said the search will focus on the eastern zone of the Reunion Island, up to the search zone under the control of Mauritius authorities.
“We’re quite pleased that it’s been found”, she said from her home in Biloela in Australia’s northeast.
The Malaysian government has previously been accused of covering up the disaster with false reports, however PM Najib has said that investigations will continue. “Tell us the truth”.
“We shall mobilize all local means at our disposal, which are normally used in such operations, and which are usable for this type of search”, he said.
At a news conference Friday, Reunion Prefect Dominique Sorain said some debris recovered in recent days “is not as obvious as the flaperon” and would require “much more complex analysis”.
Advertisement
Experts have cautioned that the wing flap could provide a clue about the moment when plane hit the water, but will not resolve the basic question of what went wrong on its journey from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Beijing. Unlike Najib, those officials did not positively identify the piece as being from Flight 370, though they said it nearly certainly was, given that no other 777s are missing.
