KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia- Families of 12 passengers on Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 have sued the carrier and the government, ahead of a filing deadline next week on the second anniversary of the plane's disappearance.
    
The Boeing 777 carrying 239 flew far off course for unknown reasons after leaving Kuala Lumpur for Beijing on March 8, 2014. A global aviation agreement sets a two-year deadline for lawsuits by next-of-kin over air accidents.
    
A lawyer who is representing 10 families says the lawsuits involve a passenger from Russia, one from China and the rest from Malaysia. Another two lawsuits were filed by families of two Ukrainian passengers.
    
The lawyer says her clients, who were engaged in settlement negotiations with the airline earlier, decided to sue because "nothing reasonable was forthcoming" from the carrier.