KUALA LUMPUR--Malaysia declared on Thursday that the
disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which went missing
last year, was an accident and that all 239 people on board are
dead.
The Malaysian statement doesn't affect the search effort, which
is being overseen by Australia and handled by private contractors
hired by the Australian government.
The search for the Boeing 777 that disappeared on March 8, 2014
has yet to yield the location of the plane, Department of Civil
Aviation Director-General Azharuddin Abdul Rahman said in a
recorded statement. Mr. Azharuddin said the search for Flight 370
would remain a priority.
"Malaysia is committed to continue all reasonable efforts to
bring closure to this unfortunate tragedy, with the continuing
cooperation and assistance of the governments of China and
Australia," he said.
The flight, which vanished during a routine flight from Kuala
Lumpur to Beijing, is believed to have crashed deep in the Indian
Ocean, far off the western coast of Australia.
Authorities are still probing the incident but both safety and
criminal investigations are limited by the lack of physical
evidence, particularly the flight recorders, Mr. Azharuddin
said.
"An interim statement detailing the progress of the safety
investigation is expected to be released on or around the one year
anniversary of the accident," he added.
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