The lack of evidence as well as the ineptitude of the Malaysian authorities indicate Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 ‎never crashed, say the kin of Chinese passengers on board the missing Boeing 777.

They said the surface search from March 8, 2014 to April 28, 2014 and underwater search from October 6, 2014 up until now, have not un‎earthed anything relevant, despite covering more than four million square kilometres.

In a statement released today, they said the Malaysian authorities did not explain their delay in releasing the satellite data from Inmarsat, which provided the determinations for the underwater search.

There was also “compelling evidence” that the debris washed up‎ Reunion Island was suspect, they said.‎

“Also, our perception of the ineptitude, the lack of both transparency and compassion of the Malaysian authorities throughout the entire process give us no reason to trust the initial and subsequent announcements and their motives in pursuing the current path of investigation.

“We ask: when the Southern Indian Ocean search reaches June 2016 without finding MH370, what would happen next?”

The families said if‎ the missing passengers were still alive, they were willing to offer the perpetrators amnesty in return for their safe release.

‎Flight MH370 disappeared from radar on March 8, 2014, en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

In August, the Australian Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC) confirmed that a part of the aircraft known as a flaperon was found on Reunion Island, but there has since been no further trace of debris.

All 227 passengers and 12 crew members on board are presumed dead after an official declaration by the government, classifying the incident as an accident based on international aviation rules.‎ – February 13, 2016.