MH370 families in drive to raise $5m to entice 'whistleblower' to solve mystery

Distraught families fear a cover-up and hope 'Reward MH370' campaign encourages insider to come forward

Several families of those aboard Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 launched a drive on Sunday to raise $5m for any insider who can resolve the mystery of the plane's disappearance three months ago.

The “Reward MH370” campaign launches on the fundraising website Indiegogo and aims to “to encourage a whistleblower to come forward with information”, the families said in a press release.

The Malaysia Airlines jet lost contact on March 8 en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people aboard, about two-thirds of them Chinese.

The Boeing 777 is believed to have crashed in the southern Indian Ocean, but an extensive search has found no wreckage; frustrated and anguished families suspect a cover-up.

“We are convinced that somewhere, someone knows something, and we hope this reward will entice him or her to come forward,” said Ethan Hunt, a technology company chief who is heading the project.

Sarah Bajc, the partner of an American passenger, Philip Wood, said a handful of families were behind the campaign to look at the unprecedented aviation mystery 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.

Malaysia and Australia, which is leading the search far off its western coast, have promised that the search for the plane will continue.

An international team is now determining an expanded search zone of up to 60,000 square kilometres based on where the aircraft last communicated with an Inmarsat satellite.

Australia has also released a request for tenders for a company to be engaged as a prime contractor and provide the expertise, equipment and vessels needed to carry out the deep-sea search from August.

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