Families of Chinese passengers reject financial aid

Families of Chinese passengers on board the missing Malaysia Airlines flight have rejected an offer of monetary assistance from the airline as "financial aid" as they question the motives of the company.

Representatives of the airline met Chinese relatives of passengers at the Lido Hotel in Beijing on Tuesday, and some of the families rejected the airline's offer of funds totaling 31,000 yuan or 5,000 US dollars for each passenger to cover their expenses during their stay in Beijing.

Special: Malaysia Airlines plane missing

A representative of the families said that they want to clarify if the funds involve any sort of formal agreement.

The relatives have also toughened their stance against the airline, as they demanded that each passenger must be represented by five family members who will travel to Malaysia for further discussions - and these family members must be allowed to choose which airline they will use and also which hotel.

The relatives also demanded that a representative from the Malaysian government should meet them for face-to-face talks in Beijing. Airlines representatives said the next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday.

Ignitias Ong, CEO of Malaysia Airlines subsidiary Firefly airlines, said the multi-national search and rescue effort covers the western and eastern areas of Malaysia, and involves more than 18 aircrafts and 24 vessels.

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