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Honeymooning couple aboard flight MH370
02:46 - Source: CNN

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"Even if he's gone, we want his body," says groom's cousin

The 239 people aboard the jetliner are presumed dead

Flight 370 vanished while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia CNN  — 

It’s been more than three weeks since Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 vanished.

The search for the plane continues, even though authorities have said no one aboard survived.

Still, some families are hoping against hope as they continue to wait – stuck in a sort of purgatory.

“At this point, we feel we are still waiting,” said Mohammad Sahril Shaari.

His cousin, Mohammad Razahan Zamani was on Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 with his new wife, Norli Akmar Hamid.

They were headed to Beijing for their honeymoon. They, along with 237 other people aboard, never arrived.

“If he is no more, we will accept it,” Mohammad said, at the same time demanding more evidence of what exactly happened.

“We don’t know for sure if (the plane) is in the Indian Ocean. We want to see that plane. Even if he’s gone, we want his body – and this is the wish of all families,” Mohammad said.

‘I just feel so helpless’

The trip to Beijing was to be his cousin’s first out of the country. He’d saved for a year to make it happen.

“He was so excited to go, he was already on the plane. It was just a matter of reaching his destination. I just feel so helpless,” Mohammad said.

Flight 370 vanished March 8 while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Authorities are searching the Indian Ocean for the missing plane but have so far found nothing, leaving families with unanswered questions.

Some have criticized the response and accused Malaysian officials of giving them confusing, conflicting information.

On Monday, dozens of Chinese relatives visited a Kuala Lumpur temple. They chanted, lit candles and meditated. Of the 239 people aboard the flight, 154 were Chinese.

“Chinese are kindhearted people,” said Jiang Hui, the families’ designated representative. “But we can clearly distinguish between the good and evil. We will never forgive for covering the truth from us and the criminal who delayed the rescue mission.”

Jiang asked Malaysia to apologize for announcing March 24 that the plane had crashed, despite the lack of any “direct evidence.”

But Mohammad said that he thought authorities were doing the best they could.

“I am satisfied with the ongoing investigation. There are 26 countries involved in this, and I am so thankful to all of them, especially the government of Malaysia,” he said.

“I am confident they will find it, but if they don’t, I leave it to Allah, maybe this is his wish,” Mohammad said.

‘This is not the end of things’

He described his cousin as a cheerful guy, someone who liked to joke around and was well-liked by his family. He recalled their childhood together, playing, cycling and having fun.

“We feel his absence. It is a great loss to us,” Mohammad said. “We look happy on the outside, but only God knows what is inside me.”

On March 24, Malaysia Airlines and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said that the plane went into the southern Indian Ocean and that there were no survivors.

Nothing related to the flight has been found – no wreckage, no bodies, nothing. That has deepened pain for some.

James Wood, the brother of American passenger Philip Wood, spoke to CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360” when Malaysian authorities made their announcement that the plane had gone down.

He has been unable to say goodbye to his brother without being able to see something that demonstrates without a doubt that Philip died. “I can’t, I can’t…” he said.

Yet he also said there is comfort in knowing he is not alone.

“We’re all human, and we all hurt. We all struggle through things. So I’m not the first one to go through something like this, and I’m certainly not going to be the last one,” Wood said.

“I don’t like being trite when I say my faith is getting me through this,” he continued. “It sounds kind of cliche to say it. It’s a hope that we have that this is not the end of all things.”

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CNN’s Sara Sidner reported this story from Kuala Lumpur. Dana Ford reported and wrote this report from Atlanta.