'Be rational and make funeral arrangements', China state media urges families of MH370 passengers

China should treat the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 “rationally”, a commentary in state media said on Monday, after days of lurid accusations by relatives insisting their loved ones could still be alive.

Under the headline “Treat MH370 tragedy rationally”, the commentary in the newspaper, which is run by the government, said: “It is certain that flight MH370 crashed in the Indian Ocean and no one on board survived.”

“We should not let anger prevail over facts and rationality,” it said. “We need to comply with the fundamental norms of a civilised society and need to show the demeanour of a great power.”

Irrational words and behaviour would “not help matters”, it added, and those involved should “prepare to make arrangements for funerals”.

“Although the Malaysian government’s handling of the crisis has been quite clumsy, we need to understand this is perhaps the most bizarre incident in Asian civil aviation history. It is understandable that as a developing country, the Malaysia government felt completely at a loss.”