MH370 ended in southern Indian Ocean - Najib

In Beijing, grieving Chinese relatives of passengers on the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 console each other after being told of their deaths at the Metro Park Lido Hotel in Beijing on March 24, 2014. Tears and cries of inconsolable pain and loss.

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in a press conference Monday announced that the Malaysian Airlines (MAS) MH370 had ended in the Southern Indian Ocean.

He said UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) which had briefed him earlier, had informed him that based on the satellite data, the last position was in the middle of the Indian Ocean, west of Perth.

“This is a remote location, far from any possible landing sites,” Najib 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,” he added.

Najib said a press conference will be held tomorrow with further details.

“In the meantime, we wanted to inform you of this new development at the earliest opportunity. We share this information out of a commitment to openness and respect for the families, two principles which have guided this investigation,” he said.

The prime minister said MAS had already briefed the families of the passengers and crew, informing them of the latest development.

“For them, the past few weeks have been heartbreaking; I know this news must be harder still. I urge the media to respect their privacy, and to allow them the space they need at this difficult time,” he said.

MH370 went missing while on its way to Beijing on March 8, carrying 239 passengers and crew. It last contact was made over the South China Sea, between Malaysia and Vietnam. For reasons unknown, it backtracked over the Malaysian peninsula and then flew on for hours.

The search for the missing flight zeroed into the Indian Ocean last week after initial satellite images found large objects floating there.

There were hopes that the mystery behind the flight’s aircraft will be unfolded as Australian aircraft spotted a wooden pallet, strapping and other debris, while French and Chinese satellite information noted more floating objects.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott had also said that crew members of an Australian P-3 Orion plane reported seeing two objects but Australian officials said they were different from the ones spotted by a Chinese plane earlier in the day.

Earlier today, acting Transport Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said police have interviewed more than 100 people, including families of both the pilot and co-pilot in the probe into the mystery of MH370.

It was also revealed earlier that co-pilot Fariq Abdul Hamid, 27, was flying the Boeing 777 for the first time without a so-called "check co-pilot" looking over his shoulder.

Source: Astro Awani