Malaysia has declared the disappearance of Flight MH370 an accident, a move that will pave the way for victims' families to receive compensation.

The Department of Civil Aviation said physical evidence had been limited in the course of the investigation. 

"It is therefore, with the heaviest heart and deepest sorrow that, on behalf of the Government of Malaysia, we officially declare that Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 an accident ... and that all 239 of the passengers and crew on board are presumed to have lost their lives," Civil Aviation Chief Azharuddin Abdul Rahman said. 

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The disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH 370 is considered as one of the world's greatest aviation mysteries.  All 239 passengers and crew went missing when the ill-fated jet disappeared from radar screens en route to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur last year.

While it has officially declared the flight's disappearance an accident, the Malaysian government said it is not ending its search.  The move was mainly created as part of a legal strategy so families can proceed with compensation claims.

Azharuddin assures the victims' families that Malaysia will continue to provide assistance to the governments of China and Australia in the search for the missing plane.  MH370, its passengers and its crew will always be remembered and honored, Azharuddin said.

"We call on the Malaysian side to honor the promise made when they declared the flight to have been lost and earnestly fulfill their compensation responsibilities," spokeswoman Hua Chunying said.

In China, some families of the victims were disappointed with the announcement, and said they are not ready to accept the compensation just yet.

"They have found nothing," Li Jingxin whose brother is missing, told one international news agency.

Li is questioning how authorities came up with the declaration, when no wreckage of the plane has been found.

The Beijing-bound Boeing 777 aircraft disappeared over the South China Sea on March 8, 2014, shortly after it took off from Kuala Lumpur.

Multinational efforts to locate the plane have yielded no signs of a wreckage despite an official announcement in April that it ended its flight in the Indian Ocean.

In July of the same year, Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, was shot down over Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board. 

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