KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 30 — Australia said today that it remains committed to the search for Malaysia Airlines (MAS) Flight MH370 after acknowledging Malaysia’s declaration of “accident” on the 11-month-old tragedy.
Speaking on behalf of the Australian government, the Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC) said in a press statement here that it will continue to work collaboratively with Malaysia and China in service of the families of those aboard the ill-fated jetliner.
“We understand that the families of those on board MH370 are experiencing enormous grief, heightened by not knowing the circumstances under which the aircraft disappeared.
“Providing support to those families, particularly at this difficult time, will continue to be a priority,” the JACC said.
In a televised address yesterday, Malaysia’s Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) officially declared the passengers and crew of MH370 dead and the tragedy an “accident”, in accordance with the Convention on International Civil Aviation or the “Chicago Convention”.
In the announcement, DCA director-general Datuk Azharuddin Abdul Rahman noted that Chapter 1 of Annex 13 to the convention states that the definition of the term “accident” includes the fact that “the aircraft is missing”.
He noted that MH370 still remains missing, despite all effort to find the ill-fated jetliner over the past almost 11 months since its disappearance on March 8 last year.
“After 327 days (as of 28 Jan15) and based on all available data as well as circumstances mentioned earlier, survivability in the defined area is highly unlikely,” Azharuddin added in his statement, referring to the southern Indian Ocean.
“It is therefore, with the heaviest heart and deepest sorrow that, on behalf of the Government of Malaysia, we officially declare Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 an accident in accordance with the Standards of Annexes 12 and 13 to the Chicago Convention and that all 239 of the passengers and crew onboard MH370 are presumed to have lost their lives.”
Azharuddin also offered Malaysia’s assurance that the hunt for MH370 will continue to remain a priority.
“The government of 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.
On March 24 last year, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak confirmed that the missing MAS jetliner MH370 “ended” its journey in the southern Indian Ocean, but stopped short of saying that the Boeing 777 aircraft had crashed into the vast ocean.
He said fresh data gleaned from British satellite firm Inmarsat confirmed that the plane had continued its journey towards the southern Indian Ocean and not along the northern arc, which was one of the possible sites identified earlier.
On Wednesday, Voice370 — the self-styled support group for families of those on board the missing plane — addressed rumours that the Malaysian authorities’ would make a major announcement about the flight, saying they will not accept any declaration from Putrajaya without physical evidence of the plane’s fate.
Retired Australian Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, who had led Australia’s response to MH370 and downed flight MH17 in Ukraine, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on Monday, however, that it was possible that the missing plane might never be found in the deep waters of the vast ocean.
On March 8 last year, Beijing-bound Flight MH370 disappeared with 239 people on board and remains missing till today, with months of searching failing to yield any clues of its resting place or debris.
