MALAYSIA DECLARES MH370 AN ACCIDENT?

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia has declared the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 an "accident", its Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) said on Thursday.
The Boeing 777 aircraft disappeared on March 8 last year, carrying 239 passengers and crew shortly after taking off from the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur, bound for Beijing.
"We officially declare Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 an accident ... and that all 239 of the passengers and crew onboard MH370 are presumed to have lost their lives," DCA director-general Azharuddin Abdul Rahman said in a statement.
"It is therefore, with the heaviest heart and deepest sorrow that, on behalf of the government of Malaysia, we officially declare Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 an accident," Azharuddin said in a televised announcement.
The announcement is in accordance with standards of annexes 12 and 13 in the International Civil Aviation, said Azharuddin. It will allow families of the passengers to obtain assistance through compensation, he said. 
Months of searches have failed to turn up any trace.

Sources: Reuters, Agency