Relatives of passengers and crew have
been informed of the 'heartbreaking' news that Flight MH370 ended in the
southern Indian Ocean, the Malaysian Prime Minister has announced.
Najib Razak told a press conference new analysis by the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch and tracking firm Inmarsat indicated the flight ended in the southern Indian Ocean.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 vanished from civilian radar screens less than an hour after take-off from Kuala Lumpur for Beijing with 239 people on board on March 8.
No confirmed sighting of the plane has been made since, but much debris has been found in remote waters off Australia which might be part of the missing plane.
Dressed
in a black suit, Najib announced the news in a brief statement to
reporters today, saying the information was based on an unprecedented
analysis of satellite data from Inmarsat.
He said the data indicated the plane flew 'to a remote location, far from any possible landing sites'.
He said: 'It is therefore with deep sadness and regret that I must inform you that, according to this new data, Flight MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean.'
Relatives of passengers in Beijing had been called to a hotel near the airport to hear the news, and some 50 of them gathered there. Afterward, they filed out of a conference room in heart-wrenching grief.
One woman collapsed and fell on her knees, crying 'My son! My son!'
Medical teams arrived at the Lido hotel with several stretchers and one elderly man was carried out of the conference room on one of them, his face covered by a jacket. Minutes later, a middle-aged woman was taken out on another stretcher, her face ashen and her blank eyes seemingly staring off into a distance.
Most of them refused to speak to gathered reporters and some of them lashed out in anger, urging journalists not to film the scene.
Security guards restrained a man with close-cropped hair as he kicked a TV cameraman and shouted, 'Don't film. I'll beat you to death!'
Wang Zhen, whose father and mother, Wang Linshi and Xiong Yunming, were aboard the flight as part of a group of Chinese artists touring Malaysia, heard the announcement on television from another hotel where he had been staying.
He said some of the relatives had received a text message in English from the airliner advising of the findings to be announced in a late-night news conference by the Malaysian Prime Minister.
Nan Jinyan, whose brother-in-law Yan Ling, a medical company engineer, was aboard the flight on a business trip, said she was prepared for the worst when she heard the Malaysian prime minister would hold a news conference.
'This is a blow to us, and it is beyond description,' Nan said.
In Kuala Lumpur, screaming could be heard from inside the Hotel Bangi Putrajaya, where some of the families of passengers had been given rooms.
Selamat Omar, father of a 29-year-old aviation engineer aboard the flight, said in a telephone interview that Malaysia Airlines had not yet briefed the families on whether they will be taken to Australia. He said they expected more details Tuesday.
'We accept the news of the tragedy. It is fate,' Selamat said.
Mr Selamat said the airline has not told the families yet whether they will be taken to Australia, which is co-ordinating the search for the plane. He said they expect more details on Tuesday.
A multinational force has searched a wide swath of Asia trying to find the plane.
Mr Razak said that British firm Inmarsat had employed 'a type of analysis never before used in an investigation of this sort'.
The new data revealed that MH370 flew along the southern corridor where investigators had said the plane could have travelled along, based on pings sent several hours after it disappeared on March 8.
Investigators had drawn up two huge search areas in two large arcs - a northern corridor stretching from Malaysia to Central Asia and a southern corridor extending down towards Antartica.
Najib Razak told a press conference new analysis by the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch and tracking firm Inmarsat indicated the flight ended in the southern Indian Ocean.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 vanished from civilian radar screens less than an hour after take-off from Kuala Lumpur for Beijing with 239 people on board on March 8.
No confirmed sighting of the plane has been made since, but much debris has been found in remote waters off Australia which might be part of the missing plane.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak today said a
new analysis of satellite data shows that the missing Malaysia Airlines
plane plunged into the southern Indian Ocean
Relatives of passengers aboard Malaysia Airlines
flight MH370 have been informed the plane ended its journey in the
southern Indian Ocean
The announcement was made as an Australian navy
ship was on its way today to retrieve two new objects spotted by
military aircraft and marked by flares in the search for the missing
Malaysia Airlines jet
He said the data indicated the plane flew 'to a remote location, far from any possible landing sites'.
He said: 'It is therefore with deep sadness and regret that I must inform you that, according to this new data, Flight MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean.'
Relatives of passengers in Beijing had been called to a hotel near the airport to hear the news, and some 50 of them gathered there. Afterward, they filed out of a conference room in heart-wrenching grief.
One woman collapsed and fell on her knees, crying 'My son! My son!'
Medical teams arrived at the Lido hotel with several stretchers and one elderly man was carried out of the conference room on one of them, his face covered by a jacket. Minutes later, a middle-aged woman was taken out on another stretcher, her face ashen and her blank eyes seemingly staring off into a distance.
Most of them refused to speak to gathered reporters and some of them lashed out in anger, urging journalists not to film the scene.
Security guards restrained a man with close-cropped hair as he kicked a TV cameraman and shouted, 'Don't film. I'll beat you to death!'
Wang Zhen, whose father and mother, Wang Linshi and Xiong Yunming, were aboard the flight as part of a group of Chinese artists touring Malaysia, heard the announcement on television from another hotel where he had been staying.
He said some of the relatives had received a text message in English from the airliner advising of the findings to be announced in a late-night news conference by the Malaysian Prime Minister.
Relatives of passengers in Beijing had been
called to a hotel near the airport to hear the news, and some 50 of them
gathered there
Medical teams arrived at the Lido hotel with
several stretchers and one elderly man was carried out of the conference
room on one of them, his face covered by a jacket
Nan Jinyan, whose brother-in-law Yan Ling, a medical company engineer, was aboard the flight on a business trip, said she was prepared for the worst when she heard the Malaysian prime minister would hold a news conference.
INMARSAT: THE UK FIRM INVOLVED IN THE SEARCH FOR MH370
The
Prime Minister of Malaysia made the announcement today based on new
analysis by the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch and UK tracking
firm Inmarsat.
The company has been involved in the search since the plane disappeared - despite the communication system on the jet being switched off, one of Inmarsat's satellites continued to pick up faint 'pings'.
The pings did not include any location information, but an initial analysis showed that the location of the last ping was probably along one of two vast arcs running north and south.
Najib today said Inmarsat had done further calculations 'using a type of analysis never before used in an investigation of this sort,' and had concluded that the plane's last position was 'in the middle of the Indian Ocean, west of Perth'.
According to The Telegraph, Inmarsat carried out further analysis of the pings before passing on the relevant information to the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch.
The AAIB is a part of the Department for Transport which probes serious civil aircraft incidents.
The company has been involved in the search since the plane disappeared - despite the communication system on the jet being switched off, one of Inmarsat's satellites continued to pick up faint 'pings'.
The pings did not include any location information, but an initial analysis showed that the location of the last ping was probably along one of two vast arcs running north and south.
Najib today said Inmarsat had done further calculations 'using a type of analysis never before used in an investigation of this sort,' and had concluded that the plane's last position was 'in the middle of the Indian Ocean, west of Perth'.
According to The Telegraph, Inmarsat carried out further analysis of the pings before passing on the relevant information to the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch.
The AAIB is a part of the Department for Transport which probes serious civil aircraft incidents.
In Kuala Lumpur, screaming could be heard from inside the Hotel Bangi Putrajaya, where some of the families of passengers had been given rooms.
Selamat Omar, father of a 29-year-old aviation engineer aboard the flight, said in a telephone interview that Malaysia Airlines had not yet briefed the families on whether they will be taken to Australia. He said they expected more details Tuesday.
'We accept the news of the tragedy. It is fate,' Selamat said.
Mr Selamat said the airline has not told the families yet whether they will be taken to Australia, which is co-ordinating the search for the plane. He said they expect more details on Tuesday.
A multinational force has searched a wide swath of Asia trying to find the plane.
Mr Razak said that British firm Inmarsat had employed 'a type of analysis never before used in an investigation of this sort'.
The new data revealed that MH370 flew along the southern corridor where investigators had said the plane could have travelled along, based on pings sent several hours after it disappeared on March 8.
Investigators had drawn up two huge search areas in two large arcs - a northern corridor stretching from Malaysia to Central Asia and a southern corridor extending down towards Antartica.
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