Malaysia Airlines hit by further lawsuits over missing MH370 flight

Malaysia Airlines is being sued by more family members of the passengers aboard the MH370 flight that went missing in March 2014.

The families of 12 passengers, including two Ukrainians, a Russian, a Chinese and eight Malaysians, filed suits against the airline on Friday before a two-year deadline for legal action expires on Tuesday.

The MH370, carrying 239 passengers and crew, disappeared while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. The plane has yet to be found and the passengers are presumed to be dead.

There have been multiple lawsuits filed in Australian, US, Chinese and Malaysian courts in the past few weeks before the deadline.

Lawyer Sangeet Kaur Deo, who is representing the Russian, Chinese and Malaysian families, said her clients were seeking unspecified damages for breach of contract, negligence and breach of statutory duty.

"I think a lot of families were trying to negotiate settlements but nothing reasonable has been forthcoming from MAS. And for that reason, to secure their legal rights, they've all decided to file before Tuesday," Sangeet Kaur told reporters after the hearing, according to Reuters.

It remains a mystery as to what happened to the airliner. The only debris that has been found from the MH370 was part of a wing recovered from Reunion island off Madagascar last year.

A piece of debris found in Mozambique this week has been sent to Australia for testing. Malaysia's transport minister Liow Tiong Lai said there was a "high possibility” the debris came from a Boeing 777, the same model as the MH370.

However, he urged against undue speculation as testing was yet to be concluded.