Fundraising campaign launched to find missing Malaysian aircraft
Relatives of passengers of the missing Malaysian plane have launched a fundraising campaign to try to find vital clues to the whereabouts of flight MH370.
The families, who believe there may have been a cover up following the disappearance of the flight three months ago, aim to raise at least $5m (£2.9m).
Launching the fundraising initiative on the website indiegogo, they said some of the money would be used to reward "whistleblowers" who come forward with significant information that will help in the search, while some will be used to pay private investigators to follow up any leads.
The funds will also be used to lobby governments around the world "to invoke real change in air safety, aviation procedures, aircraft tracking, passport security and ensure this situation never happens again", they said.
So far, just $25 has been pledged.
Flight MH370 went missing on March 8 en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. There has been no trace of the aircraft, although search teams are continuing to comb areas of the Indian Ocean off the west coast of Australia, where it is believed to have ended its journey.
Using satellite data, officials have concluded that the Boeing 777, which had 239 people on board, crashed into the sea north-west of the Australian city of Perth.
A submersible robot carried out an extensive search of the area in the Indian Ocean where acoustic signals had been detected, but could not locate the plane’s flight recorders.
The families of those missing appear to have dismissed the Malaysian Prime Minister’s statement on March 24 that the flight ended in the southern Indian Ocean.
"Months of searching have not produced a single bit of proof to back up his claims. There has not been even a shred of wreckage found in the water, on nearby or distant shores, or in fishing nets," they said.
"We are convinced that somewhere, someone knows something, and we hope this reward will entice him or her to come forward," said Ethan Hunt, who heads the "Reward MH370" project.
Sarah Bajc, whose partner Philip Wood was on board, said families wanted to look at the tragedy with "a fresh set of eyes".
"Governments and agencies have given it their best shot but have failed to turn up a single shred of evidence, either because of a faulty approach or due to intentional misdirection by one or more individuals," she said.
Danica Weeks, wife of Paul Weeks, another missing passenger, said: "We’ve been cut off so many times at the gate that we’re just now having to take things into our own hands, think outside the box and just try and do something to find this plane."
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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