The families of six crew members on a Malaysian passenger jet shot down over Ukraine have filed lawsuits against Malaysia Airlines for negligence and breach of contract.
Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it was hit by a surface-to-air missile on July 17, 2014, at the height of fighting in the Ukraine conflict.
The lawyer for the families, Thomas Philip, says Malaysia Airlines was negligent for failing to conduct an adequate risk assessment and for charting a course which flew through a known conflict zone, posing an unreasonable risk to those on board.
Read more: MH17 'shot down by Ukraine missile'
He said that the families contend the airline was in breach of contract for failing to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the flight crew.
"They failed to fulfil these duties, resulting in catastrophic loss of life," Mr Philip said.
The families are seeking general damages for loss of support and services, damages for pain, suffering and stress, among others, he added.
One of the relatives, Chong Seng See, said his sister - flight stewardess Chong Yee Pheng - worked for the airline for more than 18 years.
Read more: Relatives of MH17 and Lockerbie tragedies brought together
"The families of all the victims of MH17 deserve to be treated with humanity, compassion and respect. I hope (the airline) will do right by them," he said in a statement.
A Dutch investigation determined last year that the aircraft was shot down by a Russian-made missile fired from pro-Russia rebel territory, but did not say who fired it.
Families of seven passengers from Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia sued Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin, last month over their alleged involvement in the incident.
Read more: Vladimir Putin should speak to families of MH17 victims, says grieving relative
They filed the lawsuits in the European Court of Human Rights seeking damages of 10 million US dollars (£7m) per passenger.
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