The search continues for the missing Malaysia Airlines’ flight MH370, 12 months after the plane and its passengers disappeared without a trace.
Yesterday marked the one-year anniversary since the Boeing 777-200ER lost contact with ground control with some 227 passengers and 13 Malaysian crew onboard.
Flight MH370 fell from radars around 1.21 am on 8 March 2014 an hour into its flight from Kuala Lumpur International Airport to Beijing Capital International Airport.
Malaysia military radar was the last to track the plane and found it had deviated off path , crossing the Malay Peninsula and over the Andaman Sea.
Today, rescue parties continue to search for any sign of the missing aircraft or the 239 people onboard on the sea floor around 1,600 kilometres from Perth.
We thank you for your love & heartfelt support this year. Let us all strive on & keep flying high. #alwaysinMyHeartpic.twitter.com/EuJyP3SA2B
— Malaysia Airlines (@MAS) March 8, 2015
On the first anniversary, Malaysia Airlines’ boss Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said although everyone onboard may be missing they will ‘never, ever be forgotten’.
Speaking at a private remembrance, the airline head also sent a big thank you to the 13 missing crew members and their families for ‘sharing their lives with us’.
“We love them. We miss them. And they will always remain in our hearts.”
Ahmad Jauhari Yahya, Malaysia Airlines CEO
Relatives of passengers and crew marked the anniversary, with special commemorations.
In Beijing, families travelled to a number of sites including the Lama Temple to pay their respects.
Earlier this year, the airline officially declared those onboard the aircraft as dead.
However, families in China – where the majority of passengers came from – refused to accept the airline’s official position.
One woman, Grace Subathirai Nathan highlighted the importance of continuing the search for the missing passengers, including her mother Anne Daisy.
“It is important to highlight to the public that we still don’t have any answers and that we must pursue the search.”
Grace Subathirai Nathan, relative
And wife of Australian passenger, Paul Weeks told CNN she is having trouble moving past the accident and still hasn’t told her oldest son, four-year-old Lincoln that his father may never come home.
“You create your own scenarios in your head and you can’t bear to think that someone — your best friend, amazing husband, the father of my children — went through any of that. I don’t want that for him. It’s the not knowing that really destroys you.”
Danica Weeks, relative
People from around the world have taken to social media to send their sympathies and share thoughts on the missing aircraft.
Can’t believe it’s already been a year since flight MH370 went missing. It’s gone so quickly.
— gabe (@ghjrob) March 9, 2015
Ministers from Australia, China and Malaysia are expected to meet next month to decide how to move forward with the search.
A report released by investigators over the weekend revealed the battery on an underwater locator beacon had run out more than a year before the aircraft disappeared.
The find indicates that there’s even less of a chance of finding the aircraft.
However, apart from the expired battery, the report said the objective of the investigation is to prevent any future incidents “and not for the purpose to apportion blame or liability”.
Did you do anything to commemorate the missing aircraft yesterday?