Flight MH370 relatives express anger over Malaysia in letter to China's special envoy in Kuala Lumpur

Relatives of missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 passengers yesterday handed a letter to China's special envoy in Kuala Lumpur, blasting Malaysia's handling of the crisis as "inhumane" after a frustrating day in which the search for wreckage was called off.

The letter accused Malaysia of missing a crucial search window and said remarks by Prime Minister Najib Razak that the plane had "ended" over the ocean had added to 18 days of "pain and torture".

"The way the Malaysian authorities are handling the incident is inhumane and irresponsible and shows disrespect to life," the letter said. "As relatives of the passengers, we have to express our anger and disappointment."

During the meeting in Kuala Lumpur relatives also called on China not to scale down the rescue effort and to press Malaysia for an apology for delays in the operation.

In a message of support, the envoy, deputy foreign minister Zhang Yesui , told the families: "Our government is with you together, and we totally understand your difficulties and sadness," Xinhua reported.

The meeting followed a day of frustration during which air search crews were grounded by stormy weather over the Indian Ocean, leaving only ships to scour the seas.

Last night further evidence of a possible debris field emerged after Thailand released satellite images that appeared to show more than 300 objects measuring up to 15 metres in the sea some 2,700 kilometres from Perth.