Hamzah Zainuddin says fund could be set up by government or airline, as unmanned submarine continues to search for plane
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An unmanned submarine is lifted into the water in the search for flight MH370. Photograph: Xinhua/Corbis
A Malaysian official has met relatives of passengers who were aboard the missing flight MH370 to discuss ways of providing them with financial assistance.
Hamzah Zainuddin, the deputy foreign affairs minister, said a fund could possibly be set up by the government or by Malaysia Airlines. Family members were urged to submit a plan for consideration.
"We realise this is an excruciating time for the families of those on board," he said. "No words can describe the pain they must be going through. We understand the desperate need for information on behalf of the families and those watching around the world."
He said he would soon visit Beijing to shore up bilateral relations between Malaysia and China. Two-thirds of the missing plane's 227 passengers were Chinese, and many of their relatives have been angered by Malaysia's handling of the investigation.
An unmanned submarine continues to search for any signs of the plane. After nearly a week of sweeping the bottom of the ocean with sonar, it began its eighth mission on Sunday. It has already covered about half of its focused search area but has yet to uncover any clues that could shed light on the disappearance.
The US navy's Bluefin 21 has journeyed beyond its recommended depth of 2.8 miles (4.5km) to comb the silt-covered seabed off the coast of western Australia. Its search area has a six-mile radius around the location of an underwater signal believed to have come from the aircraft's black boxes.
Up to 11 aircraft and 12 ships continue to scan the ocean surface for debris from the Boeing 777, which disappeared on 8 March en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.
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