MALAYSIA Airlines (MAS) flight MH370 is believed to have “ended” in the southern area of the Indian Ocean with no survivors, said the Malaysian prime minister.
At a press conference last night, the country’s prime minister Najib Razak said he had been briefed by representatives of the UK Air Accident Investigation Branch on new satellite analysis that had shed more light on MH370’s flight path.
He said: “(MH370) had flown along the southern flight corridor and that its last position was in the middle of the Indian Ocean, west of Perth. This is a remote location, far from any possible landing sites. It is with deep sadness and regret that I must inform you that according to this new data, flight MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean.”
MAS released a media statement at 00.30 this morning saying that the majority of the families of those on board the flight had been informed in advance of Najib’s statement, in person and by telephone.
Text messages were used only as an additional means of communicating with the family, and MAS will arrange to bring the families of the victims to the recovery area once green-lighted by MAS authorities. The airline will “continue to support the ongoing investigation” in the meantime.
Beijing-bound MAS flight MH370 went missing in the early hours of March 8 with 239 passengers on board, having departed Kuala Lumpur hours ago. Its disappearance prompted a massive multinational search (TTG Asia e-Daily, March 10, 2014) across vast swaths of territory and speculation that the aircraft may have been hijacked by terrorists (TTG Asia e-Daily, March 14, 2014).
At time of publication, the ongoing search operation has not recovered any debris from the plane and has to be suspended due to bad weather and rough seas.
Speaking at a press conference today, Australian defence minister, David Johnston, said the search will resume when the weather improves and with more assets pumped in.
Australia’s prime minister Tony Abbott has also said visa fees will be waived for families of passengers and crew members should they wish to travel to Australia once evidence of the wreckage has been established.
