The families of passengers on the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 have started receiving initial compensation payments of $50,000.
Six Malaysian families and one Chinese family are reported to have received the money, and insurers are assessing the claims of 40 more Chinese families.
Relatives of all 239 missing passengers can claim up to $175,000 each.
The Boeing 777 flight went missing on March 8 as it flew from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing and no trace of the aircraft has been found.
Malaysian deputy foreign minister Hamzah Zainudin stressed that the government has not yet declared the aircraft lost.
“When we talk about the full payment, we have to wait until we announce the issue on the tragedy MH370 is over,” he said.
Malaysia Airlines’ insurer, a consortium led by Germany’s Allianz, is making the payments, the BBC reported.
A group of families has joined together to raise $5 million to investigate the disappearance of the aircraft and encourage anyone who might have information to come forward.