Mass prayer held in Kuala Lumpur for MH370 passengers

Malaysian Buddhists offer prayer for passengers onboard missing Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flight MH370 in Kuala Lumpur on April 6, 2014. -- PHOTO: AFP
Malaysian Buddhists offer prayer for passengers onboard missing Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flight MH370 in Kuala Lumpur on April 6, 2014. -- PHOTO: AFP

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) - More than 2,000 people including relatives held an emotional mass prayer on Sunday for the safety of the passengers on MH370.

Orange-robed Buddhist monks chanted mantras for almost two hours, before about two dozen tearful relatives left the event.

Missing Malaysia Airlines MH370 special report

Some family members still cling to hope in the absence of wreckage from the plane, and are desperate for leads.

But Greg Waldron, Asia managing editor of Flightglobal publication, based in Singapore, said he was sceptical that the Chinese ship had picked up a pulse.

"There have been a lot of false leads in this story and we need to be extremely cautious with any information that comes," he told AFP.

"I am very sceptical that the Chinese have found something so soon, given the vastness of the search area."

Ravi Madavaram, an aviation analyst with Frost & Sullivan based in Kuala Lumpur, said most beacons used in the maritime and aviation industry had the same frequency and the ping could "likely" be from flight MH370.

"But the Chinese have not said exactly where the 'ping' is originating and where they detected it," he said.

"The Chinese had previously given false alarms, so we need to verify from others before we can confirm that we have a ping." Malaysian authorities believe satellite readings indicate MH370 crashed in the Indian

Ocean after veering dramatically off course for reasons that remain unknown.

A criminal probe has focused on the possibility of a hijacking, sabotage or psychological problems among passengers or crew, but there is no evidence yet to support any of the theories.

Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.