Families of MH370 victims push to restart search as hearings begin

Relatives of dozens of Chinese passengers who died when a Malaysia Airlines plane disappeared almost 10 years ago have called for a new investigation as a Beijing court has begun hearing their fresh appeal for compensation.

The MH370 jet vanished on March 8, 2014, carrying 239 people - mostly from China - en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

More than 40 families have filed lawsuits against Malaysia Airlines, the aircraft manufacturer Boeing, engine maker Rolls Royce and Allianz insurance group, state broadcaster CCTV said.

The families' litigation requests focus on compensation and finding the truth behind the flight's disappearance, according to Zhang Qihuai, a lawyer quoted by CCTV.

Hardly any trace of the plane was found in a 120,000-square kilometer Indian Ocean search zone, with only some pieces of debris picked up.

The Australian-led operation, the largest in aviation history, was suspended in January 2017.

The families yesterday released an open letter to Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, calling for a new search for the missing aircraft on a "no find, no fee" basis.

Families "hope to search for flight MH370 on our own," the letter said, adding "they are willing to invest their own money or cooperate with capable individuals and companies."

Outside the court, many relatives were on the verge of tears as they recounted stories of their loved ones, some holding pieces of paper saying "restart the search" and "open, fair, impartial."

Bao Lanfang, 71, lost her son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter in the disaster, and her husband died last year.

"Personally, I do not care about the compensation," she said. "What I want is that Malaysia Airlines gives me the truth. What happened to our loved ones? What I want now is for them to resume the search and the investigation."

It is unclear what jurisdiction the Chinese court has to enforce the claims for compensation.

Each family filed for civil compensation of between 10 million yuan (HK$11.14 million) and 80 million yuan, as well as moral damages of 30 million yuan to 40 million yuan, CCTV reported.

The families of more than 110 other passengers have already reached a settlement with the defendants and received between 2.5 million yuan and 3 million yuan, the broadcaster said.

In 2016, Malaysian officials revealed the pilot had plotted a path over the Indian Ocean on a home flight simulator but stressed this did not prove he deliberately crashed the plane.

A final report into the tragedy released in 2018 pointed to failings by air traffic control and said the course of the plane was changed manually.

But they failed to come up with any firm conclusions, leaving relatives angry and disappointed.