MH370 News: Australians Believe Crews Looking in 'Wrong' Places; Insurers Begin Paying Compensation to Families

A survey conducted by News Corp. Australia has revealed that 77 percent of Australians believed crews searching for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 are looking in the wrong places while others say they don't want Australia to pay any more money for it.

Although 60 percent of Aussies believe the plane will be found eventually, 77 percent of the respondents or 3,411 people do not believe international search teams are looking in the right location.

Since Flight MH370 went missing on March 8, many theories, both credible and "outrageous," have surfaced, including reported sightings of the plane carrying 239 people.

The missing Malaysian Airlines has allegedly been spotted in the Bay of Bengal, South China Sea and Gulf of Thailand. A few weeks ago, the plane was reportedly seen in Maldives and Diego Garcia, a U.S. defense base on a small atoll. Despite the plethora of "sightings," searchers still haven't found any signs of Flight MH370.

In the survey, more than half of the Australians or 55 percent of respondents thought the search should continue until evidence is found. Majority of the respondents or 71 percent thought Australia should not keep paying for the search efforts.

News Corp. said the country has already spent about $43 million and the government is contemplating on adding another $60 million for the more challenging search underwater.

In a similar survey by CNN, most Americans believed the search for the missing Flight MH370 should continue. Like the Australian respondents, about half of Americans in the survey thought search crews are looking in the wrong location.

In the same survey, 79 percent of American respondents thought no survivors in the suspected plane crash. Almost half said the true events leading to the disappearance of MH370 will always remain a mystery. The CNN survey revealed one in 10 Americans believed aliens had taken the missing plane.

Insurance Firms Start Paying Next of Kin

Malaysian insurance companies have begun paying compensation to the families of the missing passengers who had life insurance. According to Borneo Post, Life Insurance Association of Malaysia President Vincent Kwo said life insurers are expediting the claims process of insurance payouts to the next of kin.

Kwo said payments were being handed to the families in the past few weeks. He added the total amount paid so far was RM14.2 million. Insurance companies have waived the requirement of death certificates and made it their top priority to ensure families receive the claims.