MH370 - Declaring MH370 ‘lost’ greatly disturbing, says Australia

The Malaysian Insider

Declaring MH370 ‘lost’ greatly disturbing, says Australia

The Australian government said today the recent declaration of loss of Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flight MH370 was "greatly disturbing"‎ for the next-of-kin of passengers and crew, and reiterated its commitment to the search for the missing jet.

"The Australian government acknowledges the concerns expressed by Voice 370 on November 10 concerning statements made by Malaysia Airlines," it said, referring to the Association for Families of Passengers and Crew Onboard MH370 by its acronym.

"The comments by MAS director Hugh Dunleavy on November 4 claiming that Malaysia will be issuing a statement on the loss of flight MH370 are greatly disturbing for the families and loved ones of the passengers and crew on board MH370."

Dunleavy had told The New Zealand Herald last Friday that once MAS had an official loss recorded, it would work with the next-of-kin on the full compensation payments.

He said both the Australian and Malaysian governments were in talks to set a date for the formal announcement of the loss of MH370.

Yesterday, Voice370 said the families of MH370 passengers were not only shocked over Dunleavy's media statement but confused as well.

"Voice370 would like the Australian and Malaysian governments to confirm the statement made by Dunleavy and whether it is true.

"Is Dunleavy's statement an accurate reflection of the real behind-the-scenes decision of both governments and is he authorised to make such a statement?" it said in a statement.

The Australian government today noted that MAS issued a statementclarifying that Dunleavy’s comments were a personal opinion only, and also highlighted that the firm was not involved in any way in the search activities.

"The assurance given to us is that the ongoing search and recovery operations will remain and will not be discontinued," MAS had said in a statement yesterday.

"Any information regarding MH370, the operations and any matters related to the missing aircraft will only be communicated by the Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC)."

The Australian government added that under international convention, its Malaysian counterpart carried overall responsibility for the search and any declarations in relation to MH370.

"Australia continues to lead the search for MH370 on behalf of Malaysia and remains committed to providing all necessary assistance in the search for the aircraft.

"We owe this to the families of those on board MH370," said the Australian government.

On March 8, flight MH370 departed from Kuala Lumpur with 13 crew members and 227 passengers bound for Beijing.

However, the aircraft dropped off the radar about an hour after departure and has not been seen or located since then.

Despite the biggest and costliest search and rescue operation mounted in aviation history, authorities have not been able to trace the missing aircraft which is believed to have crashed in the southern Indian Ocean. – November 11, 2014.

Source: https://my.news.yahoo.com