.jpg)
Kuala Lumpur ,The
grieving families of the 239 passengers and crew of Flight MH370 will receive
financial assistance from Malaysia Airlines to ease their burdens, a top
official said today, 44 days after the plane vanished mysteriously from radar
screens.
Deputy
Foreign Minister Hamzah Zainuddin, who heads the sub-committee focusing on the
next-of-kin of people on board the ill-fated plane, said that the process to
identify those who would receive the assistance started two weeks ago.The
assistance would come solely from Malaysia Airlines (MAS), with the Government
only stepping in to bear some of the costs if there is a need for it, he said.
Malaysia
has been criticised for its handling of the tragedy, particularly by the
relatives of the 154 Chinese passengers on board the ill-fated plane, besides
being accused of hiding information.
During
a briefing with the families, Hamzah said the families have been requested to
submit their own amounts for financial assistance.“Some
of the families have lost their breadwinners and may be facing financial
difficulties.
“Those
affected will all receive some form of financial assistance from MAS. However,
when the assistance will be given will be determined at a later date as we have
recipients from 15 different countries,” he was quoted as saying by the
Star.com.He
added that two Malaysian representatives were in talks with the families in
China regarding financial assistance, with MCA vice-president Paduka Chew Mei
Fun expected to fly to Beijing to speak to the next-of-kin of Chinese passengers
as well.
Beijing-bound
Flight MH370, with 239 people aboard, including five Indians, left the Kuala
Lumpur International Airport at 12.41 am on March 8 and disappeared from radar
screens about an hour later while over the South China Sea.A
multinational search was mounted for the Boeing 777-200 aircraft, first in the
South China Sea and then, after it was learnt that the plane had veered off
course, in the southern Indian Ocean.
After
an analysis of satellite data indicated that the plane’s last position was in
the middle of the Indian Ocean, west of Perth, Australia, Malaysian Prime
Minister Najib Razak announced on March 24 that Flight MH370 had “ended in the
southern Indian Ocean”.
A
multi-nation search operation led by Australia during the last 44 days have
been scouring the Indian Ocean but has failed to find the crucial black boxes
or the debris of the plane.
एक टिप्पणी भेजें