'Do more' Families of MH370 victims plea for help day before search could be called OFF
RELATIVES of the victims on board the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 have called on China to step up the hunt for the aircraft - a day before the search could be officially halted.
MH370 families plead for hunt for missing flight to continue
Malaysian, Chinese and Australian ministers will meet in Kuala Lumpur tomorrow to discuss calling off the hunt for the aircraft, which disappeared during a flight from the Malaysian capital to Beijing in March 2014.
But families of the 239 on board, most of which were Chinese nationals, have never given up hope of finding the lost airline.
Searchers led by engineering group Fugro have been combing an area roughly the size of Greece for two years.
Family members have called for the search for MH370 to continue
Search teams have combed an area the size of Greece
Almost $180million (£136m) has been spent on an underwater search spanning 120,000 square kilometres in the southern Indian Ocean - the most expensive in aviation history.
On July 29 last year, officials confirmed debris found on Reunion Island, Mozambique, was from the missing plane.
The wing section - or flaperon - was found washed up on the island along with other items including a fire extinguisher, however these were confirmed to be from the stricken jet.
The wing section - or flaperon - was found washed up on Reunion Island
Jacquita Gonzales, the wife of MH370 steward Patrick Gomes, said China and Malaysia had not contributed enough to the search effort, which is coordinated by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.
At a news conference, she said: "China, you could do more. I'm sorry for being so frank but you have the most at stake here."
"Malaysia, you need to do your bit and not just say 'I'm so sorry, we're short of funds, there's nowhere else to search'."
The search was originally scheduled to end in June
China, you could do more. I'm sorry for being so frank but you have the most at stake here
K.S. Narendran, whose wife was a passenger on MH370, also called on the Malaysian government to ask for help in securing more funding.
He said: "This country and its leadership have wealthy friends. And I suppose therefore, there really should be no argument for a paucity of funds."
Relatives have begged to secure more funds for the serach for MH370
The search was originally scheduled to end in June but has been hampered by bad weather and is expected to resume in December.
The three governments had previously agreed that unless any new credible evidence arose, they would not extend any search efforts.
The Fugro project manager Paul Kennedy said: "If it's not there, it means it's somewhere else."