KUALA LUMPUR, April 1 — The British experts who were instrumental in reaching the conclusion that flight MH370 had ended in the southern Indian Ocean will not participate in the technical briefing planned by Malaysia for the Chinese families of those aboard the aircraft.
According to UK daily The Guardian, UK satellite firm Inmarsat and the country’s Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) have both signalled their refusal to take part in the briefing announced yesterday by acting Transport Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein.
The daily reported the AAIB as saying that Malaysia should lead communications with the grieving families while those involved in the probe continue to offer their expertise.
“The AAIB, working as part of an international team, continues to give its full support to the investigation and to share its expertise and analysis with Malaysian authorities.
“Given that the Malaysians are leading the investigation, it is entirely right that they also lead in communicating developments with the families, the media and the wider public,” an AAIB spokesman was quoted as saying.
Yesterday, the daily reported Inmarsat saying that it has not received any invitation so far to attend any briefing with families.
A spokesman reportedly said that if any representation from the UK agencies is required for the briefings, this would come from the AAIB.
“Under the protocols which operate on international investigations of this sort, the AAIB is officially part of the investigation. We are technical advisers to AAIB.
“We support AAIB and provide any information they require. AAIB would be the appropriate body to attend,” the spokesman was quoted as saying.
According to The Guardian previously, a Malaysian official had told the grieving Chinese families in Beijing that the British agencies have refused to meet with them or to participate in any briefings held for the families.
It was work largely done by Inmarsat and the British air crash investigators that had led to the conclusion that flight MH370 had ended its journey in the southern Indian Ocean.
The announcement, made by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak on March 24, was derided by the angry families who demanded signs of wreckage as solid proof to back the theory.
On the weekend, a group of Chinese families made their way to Malaysia to demand the truth and staged a protest outside the Holiday Villa Hotel in Subang Jaya, calling the Malaysian authorities murderers.
In his press statement yesterday, Hishammuddin announced that a “high-level” briefing will soon be held for the families to update them on the latest developments on the search for MH370.
“The briefing will include international experts who were not available during the briefings in Beijing, including experts from China.
“It will also be broadcast live to other families in Beijing,” he said
The minister also stressed the complexity of the research done so far to locate MH370, noting that it has involved a massive team of highly-specialised experts, many of whom are based in countries across the world.
“The briefing will provide an opportunity for the families to hear directly from some of these experts. The experts will be able to explain the research, the data and the methodology that has informed the search operation,” he said.
