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MALAYSIAN AUTHORITIES HAVE made a major declaration in relation to the Malaysia Airlines plane that went missing last March, ending the search for survivors.
In a statement this morning, the Director General of Civil Aviation in the country said it was “with the heaviest heart and deepest sorrow” that the government was officially declaring MH370 “an accident” and that ”all 239 passengers and crew onboard are presumed to have lost their lives”.
The plane lost contact with air traffic control on 8 March 2014 and its disappearance has remained a mystery, despite extensive efforts by the Malaysian, Chinese and Australian authorities.
Director General Azharuddin Abdul Rahman thanked every country that provided support and assistance for their “generosity in a dark hour”.
Despite the declaration (which means the search is all but called off), Rahman said that underwater searches are still ongoing, adding that the governments of the three nations had “spared no expense and resources”.
“This has been done with the paramount aim to find the aircraft and to seek answers. It has been done in hope of bringing some solace to the families of the passengers and crew on board MH370, which we respectfully refer to as the next-of-kin,” he continued.
“We have endeavoured and pursued every credible lead and reviewed all available data. Despite all these efforts over the last 327 days, the search unfortunately has yet to yield the location of the missing aircraft.”
He later clarified that his government is committed to continue “all reasonable efforts” to bring closure to this “unfortunate tragedy”.
This declaration is by no means the end. We will forge ahead with the cooperation and assistance of the Governments of China and Australia. MH370, its passengers and its crew will always be remembered and honoured.
Four vessels, equipped with sonar technology, are currently searching the sea floor.
Authorities believe that MH370 got into trouble, exhausted its fuel and ended its flight in the southern Indian Ocean. They say there is a defined area of the ocean in which the aircraft must be located.
“This is a remote location, far from any possible landing sites. It is also an area with adverse sea conditions with known depths of more than 6,000 metres,” explained the statement, with the DG going on to say that survivability in the area is “highly unlikely”.
Today’s declaration means compensation payouts to family members of the victims can begin.
“The Government of Malaysia acknowledges that this declaration of the MH370 accident will be very difficult for the families and loved ones of the 227 passengers and 12 crew on
board to consider, much less accept,” continued Rahman.
Thirteen nations have also lost sons and daughters to this tragedy. It is nonetheless important that families try to resume normal lives, or as normal a life as may be possible after this sudden loss.
“Without in any way intending to diminish the feelings of the families, it is hoped that this declaration will enable the families to obtain the assistance they need, in particular through the compensation process.”
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If the Palestinians want solutions to their problems they need to start at home. They have no leadership worth discussing. No point in having an independant state if you cant run it. While Israel is a large part of their problems they themselves inspire little confidence in peaceful co existance.
Meanwhile life goes on as normal
“In June, the Islamic Jihad held the “Generation of Faith” summer camp in Rafah for boys aged 6-16. The camp activities included various military exercises, such as “kidnapping soldiers,” firing guns using live ammunition, and crossing obstacle courses. The campers also heard lectures on religion, and were trained in various other fields, such as first aid, scouting, civil defense, martial arts, and behavior during emergencies”
Lovely. Mort’s post speaks volumes about the “downtrodden” Palestinians.
Much like the Israeli practice of military service then ?
If you were under military occasion for forty six years , military training might seem like a good idea too ?
6 year old boys being trained to kill, so sad.
The IDF have no problem shooting six year olds, even sadder.
What are you talking about Gavan? The IDF do not target children. Hamas on the other hand like to push their own children directly into harms way. Hamas also like to use imagery taken in other conflicts and claim it as something happening in either Gaza or in the West Bank. You’ve probably never been to either Palestine or Israel and just like spouting nonsense on a topic that you are completely clueless about.
Cowards hiding behind women and children. No backbone.
Yeah the Palestinians played up on that Muhammad al-Durrah “shooting” for years but the French Supreme court and a new review of France 2′s unedited footage have killed that lie. If, and it’s a very big if, he was shot the shots came from Palestinians. Then there are the numerous cases of them using pictures of dead and injured children from Syria and claiming them as Palestinians. Or the propaganda from Egyptian PM Kandil with the body of four year old Mahmoud Sadallah who they claimed was killed by the IAF, but the UN report found was hit by a Hamas rocket.
It’s you who seems to be both clueless and brainless Brian. The IDF have been murdering children for years , hundreds of them in both Palestine and surrounding countries, read the UN and other reports of the assault on Gaza if its not too much for you
And when Hamas fire rockets indiscriminately into Israel, what do you call that?
It is murder, the same as sending an F 16 or apache helicopter to bomb a civilian area
And when the rockets are fired from civilian areas, where should the response be directed?
That’s the standard excuse the IDF use,unfortunately it does not hold up, like when they attacked the UN base in Lebanon killing hundreds of people and the video evidence proved there had been no rocket fire from the base.
The UN and HRW are both on record accusing Hamas of firing indiscriminately into civilian areas, from civilian areas in the west bank, including a UN funded school. Using civilians as both targets and human shields are both considered war crimes.
The IDF use civilians as human shields, it is called the neighbour policy, and have committed more than their share of war crimes , including using white phosphorus depleted uranium munitions and the whole collective punishment of the Palestinian people, all considered war crimes under the Geneva convention.
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