KUALA LUMPUR, April 28 — Malaysia Airlines has reiterated its commitment to assisting the next-of-kin (NOK) of MH370 passengers in China although it had closed the MH370’s Family Communication and Support Centre in Beijing and six other provinces in the country yesterday.

"As has been communicated to the family members, Malaysia Airlines will continue to provide information and maintain communication with the NOK via several platforms," said the airline in a statement here today.

MAS said it has established dedicated hotline numbers and email address for the NOK to contact Malaysia Airlines for queries on general and compensation matters.

Regular updates will also be available on the official website of MH370 via the URL http://www.mh370.gov.my.

Malaysia Airlines will continue to explore available avenues to reach out to the families, it said.

The Beijing-bound international scheduled passenger flight MH370, with a total of 239 people (227 passengers and 12 crew) on board, departed the KL International Airport at 12.42 am on March 8, 2014.

Less than 40 minutes after take-off, air traffic controllers lost radar contact with the aircraft after passing waypoint IGARI. — Bernama