A year after the mysterious disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, the Malaysian government says it remains committed to the search for the plane and the 239 people it was carrying.
Family members of the missing passengers and crew members are gathering Sunday to remember their loved ones. And Malaysian authorities are expected to release an interim report on the investigation.
“No words can describe the pain the families of those on board are going through,” Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said in a statement. “The lack of answers and definitive proof — such as aircraft wreckage — has made this more difficult to bear.
“Together with our international partners, we have followed the little evidence that exists,” Najib said. “Malaysia remains committed to the search, and hopeful that MH370 will be found.”
Indian Ocean search
Investigators have so far failed to explain why Flight 370 veered wildly off its scheduled route from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Beijing in the early hours of March 8, 2014.
Officials say that expert analysis of radar and satellite data indicates that the Boeing 777 eventually went down in the southern Indian Ocean.
At the moment, a group of ships with specialized equipment is searching for traces of the passenger jet in the vast depths of an remote area of ocean where experts believe MH370 most likely ended up.
Those efforts are expected to be completed in May. It is unclear what will happen if search teams complete their current mission without finding any sign of the plane.
Families demand answers
The absence of tangible evidence of what happened to the plane and the people on board has tortured family members and spawned a host of speculative theories.
Relatives have expressed dissatisfaction and anger over the information they’ve been given and repeatedly demanded more from government and airline officials — but with little success.
For many of them, the Malaysian government’s decision in late January to officially declare the loss of MH370 an accident, enabling the insurance payout process to begin, felt premature.
‘We will never forget them’
On Sunday, about 500 employees of Malaysia Airlines gathered at a private event in Kuala Lumpur to honor their 13 colleagues who were on Flight 370, the airline said.
“We miss them and we will never forget them. They will always remain in our hearts,” Malaysia Airlines Chairman Mohamad Nor Yusof told the gathering, according to the airline.
A support group for family members of people aboard MH370 has organized a public event in Kuala Lumpur to remember their missing loved ones. The event was expected to involve prayers, personal tributes and music.