'It's all about despair and desperation in the night'

About 100 people protest outside the Malaysian embassy in London on Thursday. Cecily Liu / China Daily

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Relatives of the passengers aboard missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 plan to head for Malaysia this weekend to continue pushing the Kuala Lumpur government to release all the information it has about the incident and to urge further investigation.

Many relatives have signed up for the trip, according to a ballot organized by the family committee on Friday, according to a relative surnamed Wang.

Wang, who serves on the committee, said an exact count for the trip is not yet available.

Inmarsat downplays role in MH370 hunt British satellite telecom company Inmarsat said it only played a contributing role in the Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 investigation, despite the Malaysian government's announcement that a final conclusion was drawn from Inmarsat data. Jonathan Sinnatt, a spokesperson for Inmarsat, said the Malaysian government may have drawn its own conclusions about MH370 having ended in the southern Indian Ocean based on Inmarsat data and other information. "We provide our information to the Malaysians, and they combine that with all the other information which they have, which we wouldn't know about, and then they draw their conclusions from that and make their own announcements on that basis," Sinnatt said. "We aren't a party to what the Malaysians announced, that's up to them, because they see the full picture. We just contribute one set of information." Cecily Liu and Zhang Chunyan

The committee was set up to provide a single voice for the families in negotiations and to serve as a platform to release news.

"All of the families have been very disappointed with Malaysia Airlines these days," Wang said. "We need to show the Malaysian government our resolve and that we will never give up the pursuit of the truth.

"We need to make our voice heard wide and loud."

Despite the anger and anguish of recent days, the families will not resort to extreme methods, he said. But they will not take a Malaysian airline for the trip, he said.

Another relative, whose child was aboard MH370, said he was in full support of sending a group to Malaysia for quicker disclosure of information.

"I'm too old to go there in person, but I'll stick to the hotel in Beijing until the truth comes out," said the man, who is in his 70s.

He came to Beijing from Guangzhou with his wife on March 8 and stayed in the Lido Hotel for some 20 days.

He said he had no idea how much longer he would remain at the hotel in Beijing - maybe months, maybe up to a year - but they won't go until the truth is released, he said.

The pair have been hampered by severe emotional stress since the loss of the flight.

"She's been sick since the day we arrived in Beijing," the man said of his wife. "I attended most of the meetings hosted by the committee while she stayed upstairs in the room.

"She suffered so much emotionally that she collapsed and hasn't eaten much for days. When night falls, I can hear her whispering."

"We barely got any sleep these days. It's all about despair and desperation in the night," he said.

Protest in London

Among the supporters of the families are many overseas Chinese.

About 100 people protested outside the Malaysian embassy in London for four hours on Thursday afternoon, demanding that the the Malaysian government continue searching for the missing flight.

Most of the protesters were Chinese students and tour guides in the city who want to help push forward the search efforts and press the Malaysian government for openness.

Chinese Weekly, a Chinese-language newspaper based in London, organized the protest.

Bing He, the editor-in-chief, said he and members of his team decided on the protest because they feel that not enough is being done in China and elsewhere in the world to make sure the families' voices are heard.