MALAYSIAN Airlines flight en route to China is missing.

SoleSurvivor · Jun 9, 2014

MH370 widow 'disgusted' by tie-in novel

The West Australian June 9, 2014, 12:44 pm<object id="flashObj" classid="clsid :biggrin:

Danica Weeks is waiting to hear news of Flight MH370. Picture: Sharon Smith/The West Australian

The wife of one of the passengers aboard ill-fated Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 is "disgusted" by a novel based on the plane's disappearance.

Three months after the plane vanished on a flight to Beijing with 239 people on board, New Zealand author Scott Maka has released the thriller novella MH370, an e-book.

According to the website stuff.co.nz Danica Weeks, the wife of missing New Zealander Paul Weeks, said releasing a book so soon after the tragedy and without information on what happened made her angry.

She said it was hurtful to the families of the people on board the flight

"I'd rather they'd put their efforts to helping them find the truth, to be honest," she said.

"We're going to be spending the rest of our lives doing that."

Ms Weeks said people wanting to write books and make movies about the mystery should wait until they had all the information.

The author, with the pen name Scott Maka, said he never intended for the relatives of the missing families to be the book's audience or even find out about it.

Mr Maka, who is based in Malaysia, said he wanted to apologise to Ms Weeks.

"I'm saddened to hear that she's reacted like that, I'm upset that she's upset."

Stuff.co.nz reported that the author acknowledged the book's publication came amid controversy sparked by US and Indian studios working on MH370 films.

He said he decided to write the novella after a "hair-raising" Air Asia flight between Malaysia and Vietnam just a week after the aircraft's disappearance.

"I was damn scared. Flying doesn't usually bother me, but knowing that another aircraft had just vanished on the same flight-path made me very, very jittery."

During his flight the communications consultant and former journalist turned his thoughts to possible causes for the MH370 disappearance, he said. Before his flight landed he came up with a "fascinating scenario", which he decided to turn into a book, which was released today.

The 45-year-old described the novella as "a twist-type thriller" focusing on a female passenger's involvement in international intrigue.

Missing: Paul Weeks. Picture: Facebook

According to stuff.co.nz Ms Weeks is also supporting a crowd-funding campaign to pay for private investigators and reward whistleblower information about the disappearance of MH370 with more than $5 million cash.

Ms Weeks said the families of the missing passengers had received little information from Malaysian Authorities and they were sick of waiting on the official investigation.

"We've lost trust so we've thought outside the box."

Ms Weeks said she hoped someone came forward with a positive lead on what happened to the plane. Finding the plane and finding out what happened would give families the closure they needed, she said.

"We're desperate, we need to try anything."

SoleSurvivor · Jun 11, 2014

Australia, Malaysia still to decide MH370 search costs

AFP
June 10, 2014, 10:15 pm

Sydney (AFP) - Australia on Tuesday said it had chosen a Dutch firm to help it map the Indian Ocean floor as the search for missing flight MH370 heads deeper under water.

Netherlands-based Fugro Survey will help a Chinese military vessel survey the ocean bed as part of the next stage of the quest for the Malaysia Airlines plane which vanished three months ago, the Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC), said.

The announcement came after Australian and Malaysian officials met in Canberra to discuss funding and assets for the unprecedented mission, after a huge air and sea search failed to find any sign of the aircraft.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is now planning to comb a 60,000 square-kilometre (24,000 square-mile) search zone based on the plane's last satellite communication.

"The bathymetric (ocean floor) survey will provide a map of the underwater search zone, charting the contours, depths and composition of the seafloor in water depths up to 6,000 metres," JACC, which was set up to head the search, said.

"The survey will provide crucial information to help plan the deep water search for MH370 which is scheduled to commence in August."

Fugro's state-of-the-art vessel MV Fugro Equator, which is equipped with a deep water multibeam echo sounder system, will work with Chinese PLA-Navy ship Zhu Kezhen on the bathymetric survey of the area.

The two vessels are expected to take about three months to complete the mapping ahead of the underwater search by an as-yet undetermined contractor, JACC said.

Fugro said in a statement that it expected its vessel to start mapping in mid-June.

MH370 went missing on March 8 en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing carrying 239 people and is thought to have crashed in the southern Indian Ocean.

- Costly search -

Malaysia's costs for the search mission have so far been about one-tenth of the US$84 million Australia expects to spend on the search for the plane.

"The government has allocated Aus$89.9 million (US$84 million). I think about Aus$25 million of that is to go the defence force for the visual search they conducted," retired Air Chief Marshall Angus Houston, who is running the search, told the ABC.

The remaining Aus$60 million has been allocated to the underwater operation in the southern Indian Ocean where the plane is believed to have crashed in Australia's search and rescue zone.

"That money has been allocated but we're still to crunch ... or still to negotiate the burden-sharing with, for example, Malaysia," he added.

Malaysia's Deputy Defence Minister Abdul Rahim Bakri, who will meet with Australian officials, told journalists on Monday that the "costs will be shared 50-50 between Malaysia and Australia".

Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein had earlier told parliament that Malaysia had spent 27.6 million ringgit (US$8.6 million) on fuel and food for equipment and personnel in the search.

"The cost that we had to bear is relatively small compared to the other assets given by other countries used in the search," he said.

"I am proud that many of our friends have come forward to help in the search, and they bear their own expenses and have not made any claims from us."

Australia has said it would welcome other nations contributing to the cost of the underwater probe, but Treasurer Joe Hockey said Canberra would not shirk its responsibility to help find answers to the plane's disappearance.

"We accept responsibility and will pay for it," he told reporters on Tuesday. "We're not a country that begs others for money to do our job."

SoleSurvivor · Jun 12, 2014

Dutch firm to help PLA map sea floor in search for Flight MH370

Next phase expected to start in August and take up to a year, covering 60,000 sq km of ocean

PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 10 June, 2014, 10:56pm
UPDATED : Wednesday, 11 June, 2014, 1:11pm

Agence France-Presse in Sydney

Months of searching has failed to turn up any trace of MH370, which disappeared on March 8 carrying 239 people after taking off from Kuala Lumpur bound for Beijing. Photo: AP

Australia has chosen a Dutch firm to help it map the Indian Ocean floor as the search for missing flight MH370 heads deeper under water.

Netherlands-based Fugro Survey will help a Chinese military vessel survey the ocean bed as part of the next stage of the quest to find the Malaysia Airlines plane that vanished three months ago.

The announcement came after Australian and Malaysian officials met in Canberra to discuss funding and assets for the unprecedented mission, after a huge air and sea search failed to find any sign of the aircraft.

Months of searching has failed to turn up any trace of the Boeing 777, which disappeared on March 8 carrying 239 people after taking off from Kuala Lumpur bound for Beijing.

The next phase of the search, which will be handed over from the military to the private sector, is expected to start in August and take up to a year, covering 60,000 sq km of ocean at a cost of at least A$60 million (HK$435 million).

The search is already the most expensive in aviation history.

"The bathymetric survey will provide a map of the underwater search zone, charting the contours, depths and composition of the sea floor in water depths up to 6,000 metres," the Joint Agency Coordination Centre said.

Fugro's state-of-the-art vessel MV Fugro Equator, which is equipped with a deep water multibeam echo sounder system, will work with Chinese PLA Navy ship Zhu Kezhen.

The two vessels are expected to take about three months to complete the mapping ahead of the underwater search by an as-yet undetermined contractor.

Malaysia's costs for the search mission have so far been about one-tenth of the US$84 million Australia expects to spend on the search for the plane.

"The government has allocated A$89.9 million. I think about A$25 million of that is to go to the defence force for the visual search they conducted," retired air chief marshal Angus Houston, who is head of the Joint Agency Coordination Centre , said.

The remaining A$60 million has been allocated to the underwater operation in the southern Indian Ocean where the plane is believed to have crashed.

Malaysian Deputy Defence Minister Abdul Rahim Bakri said the "costs will be shared 50-50 between Malaysia and Australia".

palden · Jun 12, 2014

No wonder Malaysia GST gonna be 6%

SoleSurvivor said:
Dutch firm to help PLA map sea floor in search for Flight MH370

Next phase expected to start in August and take up to a year, covering 60,000 sq km of ocean

PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 10 June, 2014, 10:56pm
UPDATED : Wednesday, 11 June, 2014, 1:11pm

Agence France-Presse in Sydney

Months of searching has failed to turn up any trace of MH370, which disappeared on March 8 carrying 239 people after taking off from Kuala Lumpur bound for Beijing. Photo: AP

Australia has chosen a Dutch firm to help it map the Indian Ocean floor as the search for missing flight MH370 heads deeper under water.

Netherlands-based Fugro Survey will help a Chinese military vessel survey the ocean bed as part of the next stage of the quest to find the Malaysia Airlines plane that vanished three months ago.

The announcement came after Australian and Malaysian officials met in Canberra to discuss funding and assets for the unprecedented mission, after a huge air and sea search failed to find any sign of the aircraft.

Months of searching has failed to turn up any trace of the Boeing 777, which disappeared on March 8 carrying 239 people after taking off from Kuala Lumpur bound for Beijing.

The next phase of the search, which will be handed over from the military to the private sector, is expected to start in August and take up to a year, covering 60,000 sq km of ocean at a cost of at least A$60 million (HK$435 million).

The search is already the most expensive in aviation history.

"The bathymetric survey will provide a map of the underwater search zone, charting the contours, depths and composition of the sea floor in water depths up to 6,000 metres," the Joint Agency Coordination Centre said.

Fugro's state-of-the-art vessel MV Fugro Equator, which is equipped with a deep water multibeam echo sounder system, will work with Chinese PLA Navy ship Zhu Kezhen.

The two vessels are expected to take about three months to complete the mapping ahead of the underwater search by an as-yet undetermined contractor.

Malaysia's costs for the search mission have so far been about one-tenth of the US$84 million Australia expects to spend on the search for the plane.

"The government has allocated A$89.9 million. I think about A$25 million of that is to go to the defence force for the visual search they conducted," retired air chief marshal Angus Houston, who is head of the Joint Agency Coordination Centre , said.

The remaining A$60 million has been allocated to the underwater operation in the southern Indian Ocean where the plane is believed to have crashed.

Malaysian Deputy Defence Minister Abdul Rahim Bakri said the "costs will be shared 50-50 between Malaysia and Australia".

SoleSurvivor · Jun 17, 2014

MH370 searchers not looking in crash 'hotspot': Inmarsat

AFP
June 17, 2014, 2:53 pm

London (AFP) - The search for Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 is yet to target the most likely crash site after being distracted by what are now believed to be bogus signals, British company Inmarsat claimed Tuesday.

Inmarsat's scientists told the BBC's Horizon programme that they had calculated the plane's most likely flight path and a "hotspot" in the southern Indian Ocean in which it most likely came down.

The flight lost contact on March 8 en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with total of 239 passengers and crew on board.

Hourly pings sent by the plane were received by Inmarsat's spacecraft, leading scientists to calculate its likely path.

Australian naval vessel Ocean Shield was dispatched to investigate, but before reaching the likely site it began to detect a signal that it believed was coming from the plane's black box, Inmarsat said.

Two months were spent searching 850 square kilometres (330 square miles) of sea bed northwest of Perth, but the source of the "pings" was not found and a submersible robot found no evidence of the airliner.

"It was by no means an unrealistic location but it was further to the northeast than our area of highest probability," Chris Ashton at Inmarsat told Horizon.

Experts from the satellite firm modelled the most likely flight path using the hourly pings and assuming a speed and heading consistent with the plane being flown by autopilot.

"We can identify a path that matches exactly with all those frequency measurements and with the timing measurements and lands on the final arc at a particular location, which then gives us a sort of a hotspot area on the final arc where we believe the most likely area is," explained Ashton.

Australia's Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC), established to manage the search, said the four acoustic "pings" picked up by the black box detector attached to Ocean Shield had to be pursued at the time.

"The four signals taken together constituted the most promising lead in the search for MH370 and it was a lead that needed to be pursued until completion so the search team could either discount or confirm the area as the final resting place of MH370," JACC said in a statement to AFP.

- 'This is complex work' -

Australian officials agree that a linear arc produced using the satellite messages, or "handshakes", leading to the southern Indian Ocean likely represents the plane's flight path.

But the Australian Transport Safety Bureau said experts were still working to define the area to be scoured in the next phase of the search, which will plunge ocean depths of up to 6,000 feet.

"The search strategy group is continuing its analysis of satellite and aircraft performance data, along with a range of other information, to determine the area that offers the highest probability of finding the aircraft," a spokesman said.

"This is highly complex work that requires significant collaborative effort with international specialists. The revised search zone is expected to be available in the coming weeks."

Malaysia's civil aviation authority and Inmarsat last month released the raw satellite data after coming under criticism from relatives over the fruitless search.

However, its complexity has led to few independent conclusions being drawn about the likely crash site.

Malaysian Selamat Umar, whose son Mohamad Khairul Amri was on the ill-fated jetliner, questioned the motives behind the data release.

"I am not convinced at all by the data," he said. Why are they releasing it now? Before when we asked for it, they did not want to release it. What can we do with it now?" he said.

SoleSurvivor · Jun 19, 2014

Revised MH370 search zone to be announced by end of month

PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 18 June, 2014, 12:57pm
UPDATED : Wednesday, 18 June, 2014, 12:57pm

Agence France-Presse in Sydney

Australian marine ships deployed on a search of the missing flight. The new search zone for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 will be announced by the end of the month. Photo: AFP

Australian officials said on Wednesday they will announce the new search zone for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 by month’s end, as mapping of the Indian Ocean seabed resumed.

The jet went missing on March 8 flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing and despite a massive aerial and sea search no sign of the aircraft which was carrying 239 people has been found.

An underwater probe of the Indian Ocean seabed where acoustic signals, thought at the time to have come from the jet’s black box recorders, were heard also proved fruitless.

Australia’s Joint Agency Coordination Centre said analysis of satellite and other data to determine the search area for the next underwater phase would be concluded soon.

An underwater probe of the Indian Ocean seabed where acoustic signals, thought at the time to have come from the jet’s black box recorders, were heard also proved fruitless. Photo: Reuters

“The search area will be confirmed before the end of June, after completion of extensive collaborative analysis by a range of specialists,” it said in a statement.

“It is already clear from the provisional results of that analysis that the search zone will move, but still be on the seventh arc (where the aircraft last communicated with satellite).”

The search has been frustrated by a lack of information, with experts modelling the plane’s most likely flight path based on signals between it and an Inmarsat satellite.

The seventh arc, or “handshake”, is the final signal from the plane and thought to be when the jet ran out of fuel.

Scientists from the British firm have suggested that searchers are yet to target the most likely Indian Ocean crash site because they became distracted by the acoustic signals detected in April.

“It was by no means an unrealistic location but it was further to the northeast than our area of highest probability,” Chris Ashton at Inmarsat told the BBC’s Horizon programme on Tuesday.

But JACC said the area in which the Australian vessel Ocean Shield used a mini-sub to scour the ocean floor was “based on the best information and analysis available at that time”, including from Inmarsat.

“The location was identified by the satellite communications sub-group, which included accident investigation agencies from the USA and the UK along with their technical advisors, including from the aircraft manufacturer, the satellite manufacturer and Inmarsat as operator of the satellite,” JACC said Wednesday.

“Based on analysis at the time, it represented the most likely location of the aircraft.”

Australia, which is leading the hunt given the plane is likely to have crashed in its search and rescue zone, said the vessel Fugro Equator, which it contracted, had begun its work in mapping the ocean floor.

It will be joined by Chinese PLA-Navy ship Zhu Kezhen in conducting the bathymetric survey crucial to carrying out the deep water search for the plane which is set to begin in August.

“So far, the Zhu Kezhen has surveyed 4,088 square kilometres of the ocean floor,” before it was forced back to port for repairs, JACC said.

The survey of a 60,000 square kilometre search zone was expected to take three months.

SoleSurvivor · Jun 27, 2014

Experts say MH370 flew on autopilot then ran out of fuel as search shifts south

Autopilot theory would explain plane's 'orderly path' says Australian transport minister

PUBLISHED : Thursday, 26 June, 2014, 2:13pm
UPDATED : Friday, 27 June, 2014, 2:34am

Danny Lee [email protected]

Australian Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss shows the new search area in the Indian Ocean for missing Malaysia Airlines aircraft MH370. Photo: EPA

The missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 flew on autopilot until it ran out of fuel above the southern Indian Ocean, with its crew likely "unresponsive", experts believe.

The latest theory on the fate of the plane - which disappeared more than three months ago - came as Australia announced that the underwater search for the jet would shift further south.

Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss said yesterday that an expert review had found it was "highly, highly likely that the aircraft was on autopilot" when it crashed. "Otherwise it could not have followed the orderly path that has been identified through the satellite sightings," he said.

The jet, with 239 people - mostly Chinese - on board, disappeared on March 8 on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

An extensive Australian-led search has so far failed to find any trace of the jet. New search efforts will now concentrate on an area 2,000 kilometres off Australia's west coast near where the original search began in late March.

The new search area, covering up to 60,000 square kilometres, is along the so-called seventh arc, one of several possible routes projected by investigators. Starting in August, the seabed search at depths of up to 5,000 metres will last up to a year.

"We are now shifting our attention to an area further south ... broadly in the area where our first search efforts were focused," Truss said.

<iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/kHTpRlS86U4?rel=0" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560"></iframe>

Australian Transport Safety Bureau chief commissioner Martin Dolan said the plane's journey over the Indian Ocean was largely guided automatically, giving rise to the likelihood that the crew had been rendered unconscious.

Theories on the plane's fate have included hijacking, a rogue pilot and mechanical failures.

But the ATSB report released yesterday said the most likely scenario was the crew suffering from hypoxia, or lack of oxygen, possibly from the plane losing air pressure at high altitude.

The report said "the hypoxia event type appeared to best fit the available evidence for the final period of MH370's flight".

Graham Edkins, a former ATSB safety investigator, said the time and distance for which the Boeing 777's autopilot function was used was not considered "unusual".

He supported the idea that the crew was "incapacitated", adding that it did not necessarily "indicate there was some kind of terrorist activity".

Malaysia last week denied claims that experienced Boeing 777 captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah was a prime suspect in investigations surrounding the flight's disappearance.

Leongsam · Jun 27, 2014

Nobody is interested in this historic footnote anymore.

halsey02 · Jun 27, 2014

Leongsam said:
Nobody is interested in this historic footnote anymore.

If the plane had flew that path as indicated, wouldn't it have flew near, over or near, Christmas Island ( Indian Ocean), Cocos (Keeling) Islands?, I am sure the Australian's would have radars of some sort on these islands??

Leongsam · Jun 27, 2014

halsey02 said:
If the plane had flew that path as indicated, wouldn't it have flew near, over or near, Christmas Island ( Indian Ocean), Cocos (Keeling) Islands?, I am sure the Australian's would have radars of some sort on these islands??

It's not an OZ flight... majority of passengers are Tiongs... why should the OZs go out of their way to solve the mystery? The air force/navy have their own priorities. Besides who's going to pay the bills?

SoleSurvivor · Jul 8, 2014

Malaysia to send more equipment for flight MH370 search in Indian Ocean

PUBLISHED : Monday, 07 July, 2014, 4:24am
UPDATED : Monday, 07 July, 2014, 4:27am

Agence France-Presse in Kuala Lumpur

Hishammuddin Hussein attends the opening of the MH370 Tribute Photo Exhibition organised by the Foreign Correspondents Club of Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur. Photo: AP

Malaysia will send more equipment to the southern Indian Ocean to join the search for flight MH370 which went missing four months ago.

Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said yesterday that a Malaysian navy ship equipped with a multi-beam echo sounder - a device to map the ocean floor - would set sail on August 4 for the deep-sea search zone far off western Australia.

State energy firm Petronas, together with Deftech and Phoenix International, would deploy a towed device called a synthetic aperture sonar to scan the ocean floor, he said.

Shipbuilder Boustead Heavy Industries, together with iXBlue Australia, would send a deep towed side scan sonar with a remotely operated vehicle.

"Instructions for immediate mobilisation have been given and the assets are expected to reach the search area in mid- August," Hishammuddin said.

Another Malaysian vessel which was deployed in April would stay in the search area,.

The Malaysia Airlines flight lost contact on March 8 en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people aboard. It is believed to have veered off course and - based on satellite data analysis - crashed in the southern Indian Ocean, but an extensive Australian-led search has so far found no sign of wreckage.

Australian officials announced last month that the search would shift further south based on a review of the satellite data. They also said the Boeing 777 was almost certainly on autopilot when it ran out of fuel and crashed.

The most likely scenario, the officials said, was that the pilots and crew suffered from hypoxia, or lack of oxygen, and became "unresponsive", which can occur when a plane loses air pressure at high altitude.

The underwater search will start in the new area, covering up to 60,000 square kilometres in the southern Indian Ocean, next month and take up to a year.

Thick Face Black Heart · Jul 8, 2014

RIP to all victims and condolences to all their families.

The authorities will not give closure. Perhaps find closure within oneself is the best.

halsey02 · Jul 8, 2014

Leongsam said:
It's not an OZ flight... majority of passengers are Tiongs... why should the OZs go out of their way to solve the mystery? The air force/navy have their own priorities. Besides who's going to pay the bills?

My point is the Australians surely would have radars scanning, in this space & age, they would have satellite...in the past, they have to rely on radar & merchant ships to anchor away from the coast...

Surely, the radar operators etc..would have spotted the flight of the plane, I am sure, but why no one, including the Aussies, are keeping mum about this, the Indonesians, SINgapore?....

Leongsam · Jul 8, 2014

halsey02 said:
My point is the Australians surely would have radars scanning, in this space & age, they would have satellite...in the past, they have to rely on radar & merchant ships to anchor away from the coast...

Surely, the radar operators etc..would have spotted the flight of the plane, I am sure, but why no one, including the Aussies, are keeping mum about this, the Indonesians, SINgapore?....

I'm sure they have more information but why should they bother. There were only 6 OZs on the plane and they aren't high profile citizens.

Leongsam · Jul 8, 2014

Thick Face Black Heart said:
RIP to all victims and condolences to all their families.

The authorities will not give closure. Perhaps find closure within oneself is the best.

This concept closure is understandable for missing persons who have disappeared for reasons unknown. However, in this case, everyone knows that they're all as dead as doornails so closure is not an issue.

halsey02 · Jul 8, 2014

Leongsam said:
I'm sure they have more information but why should they bother. There were only 6 OZs on the plane and they aren't high profile citizens.

It is not how many OZ 's there are on that plane...but, I am sure that, someone out there, need it be the Australian Armed Forces, the Malaysian Armed Forces, SAF, US Armed Forces..even they Indian Army....have a complete flight path of MH370 as it traverse the Indian Ocean.

The question ask is....why are they withholding them?? The pilot or whoever commandeering the jet, may have communicated the intention , as it made it first turn at South China Sea or at the point after Penang Is??

It is not how many of whose Nationalities on the plane...it is still amazing isn't in this day & age, a commercial jet with 200 plus people, VANISH!...this is not Amelia Erhart!....where they were flying propeller planes & radar range is very limited & especially in a large expanse of sea over a even wider islands of Kiribati...we have satellites that are so precise that, it can direct bombs on you....

Leongsam · Jul 8, 2014

halsey02 said:
we have satellites that are so precise that, it can direct bombs on you....

That's when the two are "paired" just like bluetooth devices.

In this case, the information may not be as precise.

Alamaking · Jul 10, 2014

Sinkie · Jul 10, 2014

Leongsam said:
This concept closure is understandable for missing persons who have disappeared for reasons unknown. However, in this case, everyone knows that they're all as dead as doornails so closure is not an issue.

Agree to some extent. You got a point there.

Yet, closure is extremely difficult for most loved ones if the body's whereabout is not found and another VERY important thing, the cause of death is unknown, hence closure is extremely impossible. So, there're 2 key issues here left totally open. Same for any other similar type of disappearance not amounting to conclusive certifiable death.

It's extremely painful for the loved ones.

SoleSurvivor · Jul 26, 2014

Relatives of Chinese MH370 passengers say police detained and beat them

Families members say Malaysia Airlines has refused repeated requests for them to see official video footage of passengers boarding flight that disappeared on March 8

PUBLISHED : Friday, 25 July, 2014, 9:39pm
UPDATED : Friday, 25 July, 2014, 11:27pm

Wu Nan [email protected]

Relatives of passengers on missing flight MH370 are still waiting for news about what has happened to the Malaysia Airlines aircraft. Photo: AP

Chinese relatives of passengers on missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 claim they were detained by Beijing police for nearly 24 hours after demanding to see the carrier’s official video footage of people boarding the doomed flight.

Two other female relatives allege they were punched and beaten by about six policemen after asking for the release of two relatives – a father and daughter – who were detained on a separate occasion.

Today more than 20 relatives told the South China Morning Post that since July 14 they have asked almost daily for the airline’s liaison staff in Beijing to show them the footage – but always without success.

They claimed 16 relatives – nine men, five women and two boys, aged six and four – were detained by police on July 14.

A photograph showing one of the female relatives, allegedly beaten by police, with bruises on her knees in a hospital bed. Photo: Screenshot via Weibo

The relatives said they had gone to the airline’s office, in Shunyi district, in the northern suburb of Beijing, after learning that Malaysian relatives had already seen the footage.

Police arrived at nearly midnight and detained the 16 relatives, who were preparing to stay overnight and ask for more information in the morning.

The relatives told the Post they were held at five different police stations in Shunyi for almost 24 hours, before being released just before midnight on July 15.

“The police accused us of being an organised group, and said that we had an agenda,” a relative said. “All we wanted is to find our loved ones – people with whom we share the same blood.”

One parent added: “We asked what we were being charged with – especially the children. They said we could file a legal complaint if we had a problem.”

They said police had not shown them any official warrants, or legal documents, when they were detained. Police had told the group of relatives they had been called because they were “disturbing the social order”, they added.

However, it is possible they were detained because many of the relatives not from Beijing had made plans to stay overnight inside the office.

The two women claimed they were dragged and punched by six local policemen in a police station on May 19 after asking for the release of two family members held on an earlier occasion.

The women alleged the violent conduct of police had left then with numerous serious bruises on their bodies. The elder of the two said she was kept in hospital for three days.

Both women said they had asked Shunyi district and the Beijing municipal police officials to investigate their allegations of police violence. So far they have had no response, they said.

The relatives said they had posted photographs of the two, allegedly beaten women on a WeChat public account, which was closed recently.

They also claimed they had also posted comments on Sina Weibo social media about the alleged detention of the 16 people, only for these comments to be removed.

The relatives said they may have experienced pressure from officials because they had been acting as a group, which mostly involved exchanging information and communicating with other groups of relatives in China and Malaysia.

One relative said: “We were also warned that more than 10 people gathering together is illegal.”

They said they had also been pressured to stop call themselves the “Relative Council” or “Aid Group”.

Flight MH370 disappeared on March 8, while carrying 239 passengers and crew on a scheduled flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Most of those on board – 153 people – were Chinese.

No trace has been found of the aircraft, which is believed to have crashed somewhere in the Indian Ocean, west of Australia.

Shunyi police told the Post they would need more time to investigate the claims over the detention of the relatives and alleged police violence.

The Beijing liaison office of Malaysia Airlines could not be reached today.

MALAYSIAN Airlines flight en route to China is missing.

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