After more than 1,000 days since Malaysia Airline flight MH370 disappeared, investigators are set to wrap up efforts in January 2017. So far only three pieces found near Mauritius, Tanzania and the French island of Reunion were identified to belong to the plane, and relatives of the lost passengers have started arriving in Mauritius to join the search.
CCTV.Com reported that a search vessel will go back to a 120,000-square-kilometer area of the Indian Ocean where there was previous sonar contact. Hopes of finding the ill-fated plane have diminished over time and this final sweep is not expected to provide any form of closure for the families. A part of the wing had been found in August 2015, but not much more had been found since.
Families have been visiting the sites while waiting for answers. Sputnik News cited that a group of relatives had criticized the Malaysian government when the latter failed to retrieve 10 pieces of possible plane debris found in Madagascar six months ago. They claimed that it wasn't until the relatives arrived and attracted the attention of international media that the government even did something.
The relatives had banded together to form a unified front, calling themselves Voice 370. They have been actively campaigning for the pursuit of the truth behind the disappearance of the plane bearing their loved ones. The group's spokesperson, Grace Nathan, said the family members had mixed feelings at the discovery of the debris. She wrote on the group's Facebook page, "First time a piece was found by one of us. Such mixed feelings now for all of us - pain, sadness, confusion, hope,"
Another relative, Jack Song, declared, "All we want is closure. It's like you could gradually accept the sudden death of a loved one in a car crash since you could see everything at the scene. But for us, where is the plane? Nothing could be assured without the plane."
