Relatives of Malaysia Airways MH370 clash with police in Beijing as search suspended

In a street protest in Beijing, angry relatives of passengers on board the missing plane clashed with police outside Malaysia’s embassy.

13:55 25 March 2014

Following Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak’s announcement that Flight MH370 has been lost following a new analysis of satellite data, angry relatives of the passengers staged a rare street protest in Beijing and clashed with police outside Malaysia’s embassy. 

 

China has asked to see the data that the conclusion that the plane crashed in remote seas south-west of Australia was based on. 

 

Meanwhile, the search for the missing plane has been suspended due to bad weather. 

 

Celia Hatton, BBC News correspondent in Beijing described the situation saying: “The scenes in Beijing are a demonstration of the extreme levels of anger and frustration felt by relatives of those on the missing plane.”

 

“Public street protests are illegal in China but the fact that these relatives were able to organise themselves together, wearing matching T-shirts and carrying professionally printed banners, indicates they feel they have nothing left to lose.”

 

The relatives are also accusing Malaysian government of trying to “delay, distort, and hide the truth.” 

 

Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Xie Hangsheng issued a statement saying: "We demand the Malaysian side state the detailed evidence that leads them to this judgement as well as supply all the relevant information and evidence about the satellite data analysis.

 

"The search and rescue work cannot stop now. We demand the Malaysian side continue to finish all the work including search and rescue."