MH370 relatives protest outside Malaysian embassy in Beijing

BEIJING: Relatives of those missing on Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 protested Thursday in Beijing, demanding that the search for their loved ones not be called off.
A report is due out March 7, a day before the first anniversary of the incident, and some are concerned the search operations will stop.
Around two dozen Chinese relatives of the missing protested at the Malaysian embassy early Thursday.
Police officers cordoned off the area in Beijing's Chaoyang district, and more than 50 police cars, buses and five firetrucks were deployed to the area.
About 15 protesters were removed on Thursday by police and brought to a support centre, family members told dpa. Two elderly people were seen crying and refusing to leave. Others sat down and refused to move.
MH370 disappeared from radar around an hour into a flight from Kuala Lumpur for Beijing on March 8, with 239 people on board.
Some family members said they were worried the upcoming report would announce an end to search operations.
"Don't declare MH370 lost without evidence," said a post published on the family members' shared Weibo microblogging page.
Malaysian Deputy Transport Minister Aziz Kaprawi said Wednesday that the report would include some findings of the investigation, but "we have not concluded on the status of the plane, as the search is still ongoing."
Most of the missing are from China and many of their relatives hold out hope that the passengers are still alive.
"The search is not over and they have not gotten enough evidence to conclude the aircarft is lost!"said Zhang Yuxi, father of one of the passengers.
"It would be a disrespect to life and a disrespect to the Chinese people" to call off the search before finding the wreck, he said. "I miss my child and cannot sleep many nights."
China's lunar new year, when family members traditionally gather, is on February 19 this year.
Search operations for the airliner were continuing in the southern Indian Ocean, where data showed it was likely to have crashed. No physical evidence has been recovered so far. – dpa