MH370: Why families oppose plans for a memorial

On Thursday it will be four years since Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 disappeared. With the mystery still unsolved, some relatives of passengers have criticised plans for a memorial in Australia.

The memorial is scheduled to be completed in Perth, on the west coast, by September.

According to the Australian government, the site will honour the 239 people on board when the plane went missing in 2014. It is also designed to recognise Australia's role in the failed recovery mission.

However, some relatives have condemned the idea of a memorial when the plane has not been found.

They also fear it could become a tourist attraction - or a curse - and argue they should have been better consulted.
'Absolutely ridiculous'

A proposal for an Australian-based tribute was first floated in 2014, but it was not authorised by the government until last year.

Australian Danica Weeks, whose husband Paul was on the flight, said she was blindsided by a recent email that said the memorial's design was up for tender.

"No-one was consulted. It's absolutely ridiculous," she said. "We haven't found the plane yet, so why are we having a memorial?"

Source: bbc