Families of missing Malaysia Airlines passengers call for search to continue

Families of Chinese passengers on board the Malaysia Airlines MH370 flight that went missing more than two years ago held a protest in Beijing on Friday, calling on Malaysia, Australia and China to continue the search operation.

The three countries announced last week that they will suspend the operation upon the completion of the 120,000 square kilometer search area, which could leave one of the most mysterious cases in aviation history without conclusion.

Under a heavy police presence, around 20 people gathered outside the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs to demand a meeting with officials in Beijing following the announcement of the suspension.

Protesters, who gathered at around 10am local time (2am GMT), said they wanted the search to continue until answers were found about what happened to their loved ones, an epa journalist at the scene reports.

“Until now, we couldn’t meet any senior officer,” said Zhang Yongli, whose daughter was on the missing flight. There were “154 Chinese citizens aboard the plane and they could not find them after more than two years. Where are the ministers, vice ministers? Why don’t they want to see us?”

Fellow protester Zhang Huijun broke down in tears after showing various banners calling for the search to continue because she still hasn’t found out what happened to her husband and daughter who boarded the plane in Kuala Lumpur, which never reached its destination in Beijing.

The protest was dispersed by police as relatives of the missing passengers were granted a meeting with officials to submit an appeal letter detailing their demands.

After being invited into the ministry, Zhang Yongli told EFE via telephone that officials had “nothing new” to report and senior officers were not there to provide more information.

“They’re irresponsible,” he said of the suspension of search efforts.

“It really made us sad,” he added, recalling that Chinese President Xi Jinping promised one year ago that he would put “all efforts” into finding the missing passengers.

So far, five pieces of the plane have been recovered on beaches on Reunion Island, Mozambique, Mauritius, South Africa and the French island of Rodrigues.

Authorities have confirmed that they are parts of the disappeared Boeing 777 and these places are consistent with the pattern of currents in the Indian Ocean and the search area.

The plane disappeared 40 minutes after takeoff from Kuala Lumpur en route to Beijing in March 2014.

According to the official investigation, someone switched off communication systems and left the plane flying on autopilot until it ran out of fuel and crashed into the ocean.