Families of 12 passengers on Malaysia Airlines flight 370 file lawsuits

Families of 12 passengers on Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 have sued the carrier and the Malaysian government. The move comes ahead of a filing deadline next week on the second anniversary of the plane's disappearance. The Boeing 777 carrying 239 people flew far off course for unknown reasons after leaving Kuala Lumpur for Beijing on March 8 2014. An ongoing search of the southern Indian Ocean has found no trace of the plane, although a wing part from the aircraft washed ashore on Reunion Island last year. A global aviation agreement sets a two-year deadline for lawsuits by next-of-kin over air accidents. Lawyer Sangeet Kaur Deo, who is representing 10 families, said the lawsuits involve a passenger from Russia, one from China and the rest from Malaysia. Apart from the airline, the lawsuits also named the government and the then heads of the civil aviation department and the navy as defendants. Ms Sangeet said her clients were engaged in settlement negotiations with the airline earlier. She said: "Everyone waited till the last minute to give time to the airline to settle but nothing reasonable was forthcoming. So they have no choice but to take legal action given the time...

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