MALAYSIA-AIRLINES/CHINESE FAMILIES Chinese relatives of MH370 victims say don't believe plane debris is from missing flight

Record ID: 144834

  • Title: MALAYSIA-AIRLINES/CHINESE FAMILIES Chinese relatives of MH370 victims say don't believe plane debris is from missing flight
  • Date: 6th August 2015
  • Summary: BEIJING, CHINA (AUGUST 6, 2015) (REUTERS) ENTRANCE TO BUILDING OF MALAYSIA AIRLINES OFFICE FAMILY MEMBERS FORCING THEIR WAY THROUGH ENTRANCE BARRIER FAMILY MEMBER BANGING ON ENTRANCE TO MALAYSIA AIRLINES OFFICE AND SHOUTING (Chinese): "OPEN THE DOOR" MALAYSIA AIRLINES LOGO FAMILY MEMBERS BANGING ON SIDE ENTRANCE/WOMAN SHOUTING (Chinese): "WHY DON'T YOU LET ME IN? I WANT TO
  • Embargoed: 21st August 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: China
  • Country: China
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVABOT7EQ8UNER9NZK23NS6CBTY5
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Angry relatives of the victims of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 stormed into the company's Beijing office on Thursday (August 6), saying they did not believe the wing fragment found on Reunion Island belonged to the missing plane and demanding to know the truth.
    Outside the office, Chinese relatives of those on board the ill-fated flight said the announcement did nothing to dissuade them from their belief that the Malaysian government and Malaysia Airlines have covered up what really happened to the flight.
    "What does a such tiny piece (of debris) mean regarding to a 230 tonne plane? Why are they trying to fool us? What's their purposes? To make us to take the compensation money? (We) will definitely not accept it," said Zhang Meiling, whose daughter was on the flight, adding that only when she saw the body would she accept that her daughter was dead.
    Underlining their lack of faith in the Malaysian authorities, some of the relatives said they wanted to go to Reunion Island themselves to survey the findings.
    "Next step, we are going to ask Malaysian government and Malaysia Airlines to assist us to go to Reunion Island in France. We will go to the site to check out by ourselves. We don't believe any of their words, which are all lies," said Zhang Lilong, a relative of another passenger.
    Prime Minister Najib Razak said in a televised address that a piece of a wing that washed up on the Indian Ocean island beach last week was part of the wreckage of Malaysian Airlines flight MH370, confirming the discovery of the first trace of the plane since it vanished last year.
    The announcement provides the first direct evidence that the plane crashed in the ocean but still gives families of the 239 victims little clue as to why.
    Despite the Malaysian confirmation, prosecutors in France stopped short of declaring they were certain, saying only that there was a "very strong presumption".
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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