Malaysia and Australia to ink deal over handling of MH370 debris, human remains

Malaysia and Australia will sign a deal over who handles the wreckage of the crashed Malaysian jet - including the black box and any human remains -- to avoid ‘legal pitfalls’ in future. (New signal spurs search for missing MH370 black boxes)

The agreement aims at ‘safeguarding both parties from any legal pitfalls’ and covers every aspect of the ongoing Australia-led recovery process of the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 in the southern Indian Ocean. (MH370 search to be costliest ever at $100 million: analysts)

The MoU will also address specific areas, including which parties will handle the wreckage or any parts of the plane, including the black box, once found.

Another critical area concerns the handling of human remains, the New Straits Times reported. (Uncharted depths provide reality check for MH370 hunt)

The report said Canberra is studying the MoU and Kuala Lumpur hopes it will be concluded soon and endorsed by the cabinet at its next meeting. (Australia sees new search phase if mini-sub fails to find MH370)

It will come into effect as soon as any part of the Boeing 777-200 is found but details will not be made public, said Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, director-general of the Department of Civil Aviation. (Still no success as deep-sea drone searches for MH370)

‘The MoU spells out exactly who does what and the areas of responsibility,’ Azharuddin said, adding that Malaysia would lead most of the investigation, with Australia and other foreign agencies, assisting.

The deal also addressed the question of who would carry out autopsies on the remains of the passengers, according to a source.

‘The retrieval, identification and recording processes that will be applied for each passenger and crew are vital to ensure that there are no issues with their next-of-kin,’ the source said.

The scope and breadth of the MoU is comprehensive, detailing even where the remains will be brought to immediately upon recovery and where they will be taken to for autopsy, as the 239 people on board the missing airliner came from 15 different countries, including India. (Hunt for MH370 closes in on ‘final resting place’)