MH370: Chinese families head home with hanging grief

Fifty-seven days since the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flight MH370, the remaining family members putting up at hotels in Beijing are making their way home after MAS announced that it will shut down its MH370 Family Assistance Centres worldwide by Wednesday.

"I don't want to leave of course, but I have no choice," Yan Jiacheng told AFP.

His 30-year-old son, Yan Ling was one of the 153 Chinese passengers on the flight.

"The passengers have probably already died. I think so, but I don't dare to tell my family that,” he said upon leaving Lido Hotel for an 800km journey back to his hometown.

Lido and Metro Park Hotel in the capital have been the focal point in the MH370 incident where family members gathered and were briefed on updates for the past two months.

The hotels also hosted scenes of chaotic clashes from time to time between MAS staff and relatives, desperate for news on the missing airliner.

Just over a week ago, frustrated relatives held ten MAS employees in Lido’s ballroom for more than eight hours as they demanded that Malaysian government give a fuller and more transparent account of flight MH370.

Tensions have been running high among the Chinese family members over what they deemed as conflicting and incomplete reports shared by the Malaysian government even as the largest search operations failed to yield any sighting of the plane.

Dozens of angry relatives of passengers has held protests outside the Malaysian embassy in Beijing. Chinese celebrities too have taken to social media calling for a boycott of all things Malaysian.

MAS' latest decision to stop providing accommodation to the relatives sparked fresh anger.

"I'm very angry," Steven Wang told AFP on Friday.

"Malaysia Airlines have suddenly told us to leave. They should have at least given us an adjustment period for us to make preparations and collect our things," said Wang whose mother was on the ill-fated flight.

MAS Group CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said in a statement that the airline was advising families to receive information updates on the progress of the search and investigation and other support by MAS within the comfort of their own homes.

"From past experience, we understand the continuing search and investigation will be a prolonged process," he said.

Head of the Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC) Angus Houston, who is leading the MH370 search, has also warned that the search might take up take up to eight or even 12 months.

MAS added that it would keep in close touch with the families on news updates through telephone calls, messages, the internet and face-to-face meetings.

Family support centres would be established in Kuala Lumpur and Beijing and the detailed plan of follow-up support and services would be relayed in person to the affected families.

Meanwhile, MAS announced it will allocate a sum of money as advanced compensation payment to the next-of-kin of each Chinese passenger, in order to meet their immediate economic needs.

MAS today said it has contacted the family members to proceed with the payment.