PUTRAJAYA, July 22 — Family members of those aboard Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 today alleged that they were closeted away by airline officials who prevented them from meeting the transport ministers of Malaysia, China, and Australia.

Grace Subathirai Nathan claimed that she and around 15 people were escorted by two Malaysia Airlines officials to a building adjacent to where the ministers were giving a briefing on the search for the missing plane.

She said they were kept in an unlit room for the duration of the briefing, and not told of the purpose.

“So basically they wanted to move us away from here and put us over there,” she told reporters when met after the ministers’ press conference today.

Grace’s mother, Anne Daisy, was among the 239 people on the flight that disappeared en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, China on March 8, 2014.

Melbourne-based Jennifer Chong, whose husband was on board MH370, questioned their treatment and asked why they were prevented from meeting with the ministers.

“We are not criminals, but you guys are treating us like nuisance. We want to be treated with respect and dignity,” she said, adding that the message should be “conveyed to the relevant departments”.

The three transport ministers today announced that the search for MH370 would be “suspended” if the plane is not found in the current 120,000 kilometre square search area.

Grace said if the officials were not interested in continuing with the search, the families would be willing to set up a fund to continue the mission to find the plane.

“We hope that they intensify the search in the East African coastline and if they don’t we might consider raising money ourselves

“We might be seeking help from those living in the area to be a lookout for the debris and maybe we can offer a reward if they can find an incredible item,” she explained.

Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said after the tripartite meeting that the suspension of the search would not mean a complete termination, and assured that it would continue upon the discovery of new evidence.