Malaysia flight MH370 ended in 'southern Indian Ocean’

Malaysia Prime Minister Najib Razak has given a harrowing press conference in which, in a somber voice, he announced that the Malaysia Airlines plane was lost in the Indian Ocean.

The little hope that existed of finding the passengers alive was squashed as it was announced that “everyone on board was lost”.

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.

"We deeply regret that we have to assume beyond any reasonable doubt that MH370 has been lost and that none of those on board have survived," a message sent by the airline company to the relatives read.

The plane is believed to have crashed in a remote location far from any possible landing site.

As relatives listened to their shock and horror, Razak told journalists in Kuala Lampur that he had just been briefed by representatives from the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB).

Inmarsat, the UK company that provided the satellite data which indicated the northern and southern corridors, has been performing further calculations on the data.

Using a type of analysis never before used in an investigation of this sort, they have been able to shed more light on MH370’s flight path.

Based on this analysis, it was concluded that MH370 flew along the southern 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 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,” Razak said.

He confirmed that Malaysia Airlines had already spoken to the relatives before the press conference was held.

“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 allow them the space they need at this difficult time.”

Earlier Monday, an Australian aircraft searching for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 has spotted two objects that could be retrieved by a naval vessel in the coming hours, authorities said Monday.

One object is “a grey or green circular object,” and the other is “an orange rectangular object,” the Australian Maritime Safety Authority said.

They are separate from “suspicious objects” reported earlier Monday by a Chinese military plane that was involved in search efforts in the same region, authorities said.

The reports from the search teams combing an isolated area of the southern Indian Ocean have once again raised hopes of meaningful progress in the hunt for the plane.

But none of the sighted objects have so far been firmly linked to Flight 370, which disappeared more than two weeks ago over Southeast Asia with 239 people on board.