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A relative holds a sign reading 'Dad I miss U!', outside the Yonghegong Lama Temple in Beijing.(Photo: Rolex dela Pena, EPA)
BEIJING — Amid a heavy police presence Sunday, at least 30 relatives of the Chinese passengers on board missing flight MH370 gathered at a Beijing temple to mark the first anniversary of the plane's wholly unexplained disappearance en route to the Chinese capital.
Holding signs and white t-shirts saying "search on", and demanding "the truth," the relatives said they wanted to commemorate the day, pray for their loved ones' safe return and maintain pressure for more information from Malaysian authorities, who they believe are concealing information.
An interim report released by Malaysia on Sunday did not identify any significant areas for concern relating to either the plane or the crew. One newly identified issue, that may have hampered the subsequent search, was the Dec. 2012 expiration of the battery of the locator beacon for the data recorder, more than a year before the flight. The battery in the cockpit voice recorder's locator beacon was working, the report said.
The Boeing 777 jetliner carried 239 passengers and crew, including 153 Chinese citizens. Cheng Liping came to remember her missing husband, movie stunt man Ju Kun. "I came to pray for him, I've been here many times before," she said. "We have had no real information from Malaysia, but we will not give up." Her home-made sign read "I will never give up. There is no home without my husband. My two sons need their father to return home safely."
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Outnumbered by uniformed and plainclothes police, the relatives gathered outside the Buddhist temple's main entrance. They have gathered there on previous occasions, such as the six-month anniversary, and after the late January announcement by Malaysian authorities that the plane had met an "accident" with all passengers and crew presumed dead.
"Today, we stand united in remembering and honoring the 239 people, including 50 Malaysians, on-board MH370," Prime Minister Najib Razak said in a statement. "Our prayers are with them and their loved ones left behind – whose sorrow we share."
Chinese authorities are nervous of any public gathering by independent groups, and tried to prevent journalists from interviewing relatives Sunday. Security concerns are currently heightened as China is holding its brief annual session of the rubber-stamp parliament beside Tiananmen Square.
The police also strengthened their presence outside the Malaysian Embassy in Beijing, where relatives have often gone to protest against the country's handling of the crisis.
In the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur, the airline was expected to hold a private ceremony Sunday for next of kin of the missing flight crew. Relatives planned a public event to remember their loved ones at a central square in the city.
On Sunday afternoon, Malaysia released online an interim report about the investigation, required by international aviation authorities within one year of an incident. "The sole objective of the investigation is the prevention of future accidents or incidents, and not for the purpose to apportion blame or liability," the report said.
The most expensive search in aviation history has yet to find any debris from flight MH370, which satellite analysis suggests crashed in the southern Indian Ocean.
USA TODAY
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The report contained profiles of the crew, including financial background and insurance cover, but noted nothing unusual. Much of the speculation about the fate of MH370 centers on the possibility that the captain or other crew members deliberately flew the plane off its scheduled path. "There were no behavioural signs of social isolation, change in habits or interest, self-neglect, drug or alcohol abuse of the Captain, First Officer and the Cabin Crew," said the report.
Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah, whose elder sister defended him Thursday against the popular theory he was a "rogue pilot" responsible for the disappearance, showed "no significant behavioural changes" on the day of the flight, and his prior three flights, the report concluded. "The gait, posture, facial expressions and mannerism were his normal characteristics," it said.
The investigation team interviewed more than 120 people including the crew's next-of-kin, refuelers, caterers, cleaners and cargo loaders. Site visits included firms responsible for a cargo of Motorola Solutions lithium ion batteries — the focus of some speculation — which were not regulated as "dangerous goods" as the packing met safety guidelines, said the report.
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