MH370 kin to fly to Madagascar
November 22, 2016
Voice370, an organization advocating the grievances of family members of the air crash victims, announced on Monday that its members would travel to the island country to look for its kin.
The group, which will visit Madagascar from December 3 to 11 included four Malaysians, a French national and two Chinese nationals, dpa news agency reported. They would be accompanied by Blaine Gibson, a private investigator from the US who has been searching for the wreckage.
Voice370 has repeatedly complained about the lack of coordination in looking for the flights remains and has been skeptical that the right areas were being searched. It has previously also demanded a public reevaluation of satellite data used to determine the crash site. "This leaves the NOKs (next-of-kin) no other choice except to take it upon ourselves to do something to find answers and closure," the group said in a statement.
We are using our savings. We need to do something about it. It is important that the search continues," Grace Subathirai Nathan, whose mother Anne Daisy died in the crash, told dpa news agency. "To them, it is just a plane," she said, referring to investigating officials. "But to us, it is our loved ones," she added.
The Boeing 777 jet crashed in March 8, 2014, as it flew from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Investigations suggested the plane had gone down in the Indian Ocean, but extensive searches did not reveal anything conclusive. Scattered remains of the plane were found off the African coast, but there was nothing to suggest the aircraft had gone off course.
The first parts of the plane- a two-meter part of the wing called the flaperon - was found on the French island of Reunion on the Indian Ocean. Similar pieces have been found along shores lining the western Indian Ocean, but there has been no confirmation that they belong to the missing jet.
Earlier this month, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau released a report, claiming the flight could have been out of control and that its wing flaps were not prepared for landing when it plunged into the waters.
mg/bw (dpa, AFP)