Minute of silence for missing MH370

The Malaysian parliament opened with a minute's silence to mark the second year since the disappearance of Flight 370.

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Kuala Lumpur - The Malaysian parliament opened with a minute's silence on Tuesday to mark the second year since the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370.

Speaker Pandikar Amin expressed condolences to the relatives of the those on board the aircraft when it went missing about an hour after it took off from Kuala Lumpur for Beijing on March 8, 2014.

“We hope the relatives of the 239 people, including 50 Malaysians, will remain strong,” he said.

Prime Minister Najib Razak said Malaysia had not given up hope of finding the remains of flight MH370.

“The current search operation is expected to be completed later this year, and we remain hopeful that MH370 will be found in the 120 000-square-kilometre-area under investigation,” he said.

Relatives of those on board have expressed concern that authorities might call off the search before the wreck and their loved ones' remains are located.

The Australian-led international search team has so far failed to locate the missing plane, which was believed to have crashed in the southern Indian Ocean.

Debris from the aircraft found in the French Reunion Island last year, given the prevailing drift patterns, was further evidence that the plane ended in the Southern Indian Ocean, Najib said.

“But we know that neither the passage of time, nor this evidence, will comfort those whose grief cannot be assuaged,” he said.

Najib said that if the plane could not be located in the current search area “then Malaysia, Australia and China will hold a tripartite meeting to determine the way forward.”

Most of the passengers were Chinese nationals.

“We remain committed to doing everything within our means to solving what is an agonising mystery for the loved ones of those who were lost,” he said.

DPA