Missing flight lost with all on board 'beyond doubt'
The Malaysian Prime Minister said authorities searching for missing flight MH370 have to assume beyond any reasonable doubt that the plane has been lost, with no survivors.
Families of the passengers on board the missing Malaysian airlines jet were called to an emergency meeting in Beijing at approximately 2pm GMT.
"Based on the new analysis ... [we] have concluded that MH 370 flew along the southern corridor, and that its last position was in the middle of the Indian Ocean, west of Perth," the Prime Minister, Najib Razak, said.
"This is a remote location, far from any possible landing sites.
"It is therefore with deep sadness and regret that I must inform you that according to this new data … the flight ended in the Southern Indian Ocean."
But with the location of the plane itself still unknown – most likely somewhere at the bottom of the sea – profound questions remain about what brought down the aircraft and why.
BBC news reports that the families of those on board received the following text message moments ahead of the PM's speech.
The text msg Malaysia Airlines sent to inform Chinese #MH370 families about flight's fate ending in S Indian Ocean pic.twitter.com/Ys3azWL7WB
— Adrienne Mong (@adriennemong) March 24, 2014
"Malaysia Airlines deeply regrets that we have to assume beyond any reasonable doubt that MH370 has been lost and that none of those on board survived.
"As you will hear in the next hour from Malaysia's Prime Minister, we must now accept all evidence suggests the plane went down in the Southern Indian Ocean."
Significant number of stretchers now being taken into Chinese families of #mh370 pic.twitter.com/5TXy8NxE3w
— Lucy Watson (@lucywatsonitv) March 24, 2014
Selamat Omar, the father of a 29-year-old aviation engineer who was on the flight, said some members of families of other passengers broke down in tears at the news.
“We accept the news of the tragedy. It is fate,” Mr Selamat told reporters in Kuala Lumpur.
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 Malaysia Airlines official said there are no plans to fly the families to the Australian city of Perth until wreckage is found.
Today's announcement appears to be based on detailed analysis of tracking data, rather than earlier reports of the discovery of debris in the Southern Indian Ocean.
The data, analysed by Inmarsat, was described as unprecedented.
Prime Minister Razak said there would be a press conference tomorrow with further details.
The flight disappeared shortly after take-off from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, with 239 passengers and crew aboard.
