Beijing Court Orders $410,000 Per Family for Eight MH370 Victims

A Beijing court has ordered Malaysia Airlines to pay approximately 2.9 million yuan, or about $410,000, to each of the families of eight passengers who disappeared aboard Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 more than a decade ago. The ruling, issued Friday by the Chaoyang District People's Court and announced in a statement Monday, marks the first formal compensation decision by a Chinese court related to the incident.

The compensation covers the death of each passenger, funeral expenses and damages for emotional distress. The eight families had filed suits seeking accountability from the airline for the loss of their loved ones on the Boeing 777 flight, which vanished on March 8, 2014, shortly after departing Kuala Lumpur International Airport en route to Beijing. Although the cause of the disappearance remains unknown, the passengers have been declared legally dead in China, allowing families to pursue such claims.

Flight MH370 carried 239 people, including 227 passengers and 12 crew members. Among the passengers were citizens of several countries, with the majority holding Chinese nationality. The aircraft dropped off radar about 40 minutes after takeoff, prompting one of the...