In a statement Thursday,
the Malaysian government said the 239 people on board the Beijing-bound
Boeing 777 should be "presumed to have lost their lives" and
compensation to the victims' families will begin.
The disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, which vanished
shortly after take off from Kuala Lampur in March 2014 and sparked one
of the biggest aviation mysteries in history, has officially been
declared an accident.
"It is therefore, with the heaviest heart and deepest sorrow that on
behalf of the government of Malaysia, we officially declare Malaysia
Airlines Flight MH370 an accident," said Azharuddin Abdul Rahman,
director general of Malaysia's Department of Civil Aviation.
He said the news would "be very difficult for the families and loves ones," but the formal announcement complies with international law so that families can start receiving financial assistance from the airline.
Malaysia Airlines is ready to begin the next-of-kin process to the
passengers' families, much to the relief of China, which had the
majority of people on board. Beijing's foreign ministry spokeswoman said
it urges the airline to "earnestly fulfill their compensation
responsibilities."
The airline is expected to pay out roughly $45,000 for
each person on board, in addition to the $5,000 it gave the families
last year for expenses while waiting to hear of news about the vanished
airliner.
Despite the official declaration, efforts aren't completely over: Rahman said that locating the plane "remains a priority," despite a nearly 10-month multinational search effort that has not even turned up a signal piece of debris.
