3rd LD Writethru: Malaysian gov't declares MH370 accident, all those aboard presumed dead

Director General of Malaysian Department of Civil Aviation Azharuddin Abdul Rahman said on Thursday that the Malaysian government officially declared MH370 an accident, and all 239 people on board the plane were presumed dead.

"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 ... and that all 239 of the passengers and crew on board MH370 are presumed to have lost their lives," Azharuddin said in a statement.

After 327 days (as of Jan. 28, 2015) and based on all available data as well as circumstances mentioned earlier, survivability in the defined area where the plane was located was highly unlikely, the statement said.

"Malaysia Airlines will undertake their responsibilities in relations to the legitimate rights and interests of the next-of- kin, which includes the fulfillment of the compensation process," it said, adding that the company was ready to proceed immediately with the compensation process.

The statement also said a special section had been established on the MH370 website, which included information on the search and investigation efforts, the compensation process, responses to the inquiries of the next-of-kin as well as other forms of assistance that were available to the relatives.

Malaysian Airlines flight MH370, a Boeing 777 aircraft with 239 people including 154 Chinese aboard, disappeared on March 8 last year shortly after taking off from Kuala Lumpur en-route to Beijing.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has announced the ill- fated plane had "ended in the southern Indian Ocean," following analysis of data released by British satellite telecommunications company Inmarsat.

A massive multinational search operation, joined by 65 aircraft and 95 vessels from 25 countries, has been launched from the South China Sea, the Bay of Bengal to the southern Indian Ocean, but the searchers so far have not found the wreckage.

As to the investigation, the statement said the "Malaysian ICAO Annex 13 Safety Investigation Team for MH370," comprising representatives from seven countries was conducting its safety investigation, while a criminal investigation led by the Royal Malaysia Police was also ongoing.

Both investigations were limited by the lack of physical investigation evidence at this time, particularly the flight recorders.

"Therefore at this juncture there is no evidence to substantiate any speculations as to the cause of the accident. An interim statement detailing the progress of the safety investigation is expected to be released on or around the one year anniversary of the accident," it added. Endi