MH370: Show us tangible evidence, says next-of-kin
Sathesh Raj
August 8, 2015 22:24 MYT
August 8, 2015 22:24 MYT
GRACE: If the debris was proved to be from MH370 without any doubt, she hoped the officials would continue intensifying the search area especially at the islands with no record of human settlement or activities.
The next-of-kin of passengers and crew on board Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 is demanding for more evidence as they find it difficult to accept the fact that the flaperon found on Reunion island belongs to the flight.
There is no tangible evidence shown from the authorities despite official announcements made by the Malaysian ministry, said Grace Subathirai whose mother was one of the 239 passengers on board the ill-fated flight.
“We feel that they (government) haven’t given us any proof of what they’ve said. They haven’t shown us how the numbers match or which part of the maintenance records they compared it to or what other analysis they did.
“I know that the Transport Minister said there was a seal, MAS maintenance seal number and that the paint matched, but how did they reach those conclusions? How come no other information except for their word has been given to us?” she said when interviewed by Astro AWANI, recently.
Family members of passengers aboard Malaysia Airlines flight 370 hold signs as they protest outside the company's offices in Beijing, Thursday, Aug. 6, 2015. About a dozen Chinese relatives of passengers protested outside the Malaysia Airlines offices in Beijing on Thursday. -AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein
Shocked to hear about the finding after a long period of silence, she described the government's action as 'premature' especially since the French investigations are still ongoing.
If the debris was proved to be from MH370, she hoped that the officials would intensify their search especially at the islands with no record of human settlement or activities.
"If this piece does turn out to be from MH370 without a doubt, there’s 100 per cent proof it is from MH370, then we would just hope they continue to intensify the search maybe modify the search area especially search certain uninhabited islands in the area," she said.
“For now because we haven’t seen a report and we haven’t been told what tests were done or how they arrived at such a conclusion and by simply announcing, this would not be enough for us to accept.
“We are all hoping that this is not from the plane because none of us want our loved ones to have perished in such a horrible manner.
“So of course we hope they are out there somewhere alive and if this piece belongs to the plane, the chances of they are out there alive somewhere becomes very slim and into non-existent," said Subathirai.
As the search continues and with the revelation of the exact truth, only then they could draw the curtains on their grief.
Malaysia confirmed the flaperon found on Reunion Island is from the missing MH370 because it matched the Malaysian Airlines (MAS)'s records, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said.
France launched a hunt for more wreckage from the ill-fated MH370 plane off Reunion island on Friday in a fresh effort to shed light on one of aviation's biggest mysteries.
The tiny French Indian Ocean territory has been under intense scrutiny since a beach cleaner found a washed-up wing part last week, which Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak later declared was part of the Boeing 777 that mysteriously vanished 17 months ago.