A Chinese court has ruled that Malaysia Airlines must pay compensation of 2.9 million yuan (around 350,000 euros) to each of the families of eight passengers who went missing on flight MH370 more than a decade ago.
According to a statement released this Tuesday, 9th, the court decision obliges the air carrier to compensate families for the death of family members, funeral expenses and damages caused by emotional suffering. Although the fate of the passengers remains unknown, all were declared legally dead.
Flight MH370 disappeared in 2014 with 239 people on board, including passengers and crew, after taking off from Kuala Lumpur en route to Beijing. Despite several years of searches, it remains unclear what happened to the plane and its occupants. Most of the passengers were Chinese nationals, and their families have made continuous efforts to obtain answers.
Aboard the Boeing 777 were 153 Chinese, 50 Malaysians (12 were part of the crew), seven Indonesians, six Australians, five Indians, four French, three North Americans, two New Zealanders, two Ukrainians, two Canadians, two Iranians, one Russian, one Dutchman and one Taiwanese.
The court also indicated that 23 cases remain pending, while in 47 cases the families reached out-of-court settlements with the airline and withdrew their actions.
Initially, Malaysia, China and Australia carried out a joint search of around 120,000 square kilometers in the Indian Ocean, but ended operations in January 2017, without finding the plane’s wreckage.
A company hired by the Malaysian Government, Ocean Infinity, also tried to locate the device in an area of around 100,000 square kilometers between January and June 2018, without success.
Last week, Kuala Lumpur announced that Ocean Infinity will resume the search for the missing plane from December 30.