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Intan Maizura Othman, wife of flight attendant Mohd Hazrin Hasnan aboard the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, carries their son Mohamed at news conference in Putrajaya January 29, 2015. [Photo/Agencies] |
Official announcement
Malaysia's Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) officially declared on Thursday that the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 was an accident.
Carrying 12 crew members and 227 passengers, including 154 Chinese citizens, the flight lost contact with air traffic controllers about an hour after taking off. Months of searches have failed to turn up any trace.
The last-known position of the plane was 120 nautical miles off the east coast of the Malaysian town of Kota Bharu.
"This declaration is by no means the end," said Azharuddin, adding that it will continue with the search for the missing plane with assistance from China and Australia.
International investigators are looking into why the jet veered thousands of miles off course from its scheduled route before eventually plunging into the Indian Ocean.
Malaysia is also conducting a criminal investigation.
"Both investigations are limited by the lack of physical evidence at this time, particularly the flight recorders," said Azharuddin.
"Therefore, at this juncture, there is no evidence to substantiate any speculations as to the cause of the accident."
The DCA will conduct a technical briefing on Friday to provide a further update on the ongoing MH370 search mission.
Malaysia's deputy transport minister Aziz Kaprawi said on Wednesday that the DCA will release an interim report on the investigation into the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 on March 7, a day before the one-year anniversary of the disappearance.
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