Families hit out at Malaysia as wind hinders search for plane
FAMILIES of the lost passengers onboard Flight MH370 clashed with police in Beijing yesterday as they protested they way the search for the missing plane has been handled.
Protesters threw bottled water at the Malaysian embassy and shouted for the country to “return our relatives”.
The protesters were taken back to their hotels, where they have spent two and a half weeks waiting for news of the Malaysia Airlines flight.
New satellite analysis confirmed on Monday that the Boeing 777 ended up in the southern Indian Ocean, extinguishing hope of any survivors among the 239 passengers and crew.
Malaysia Airlines yesterday defended its decision to inform some families of the grim news by text message, saying it was a “last resort” if they could not be contacted by other means before the press conference.
“This is a time of extraordinary emotions and we fully understand,” said Malaysia Airlines chairman Mohd Nur Yusof. “In fact, we really feel for the next of kin. In terms of how they react, it’s emotional.”
Gale-force winds yesterday hampered search efforts 2,500 kilometres off the Australian coast. Investigators have so far been unable to confirm several possible sightings of debris in the ocean around the area thought to be the plane’s crash site.