Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak announced Monday evening that new satellite data has concluded missing Malaysian flight MH370 with 239 passengers and crew went down in the Indian Ocean.
Razak did not say that wreckage has been found. He said that “never before used analysis” from the British satellite company Inmarsat formed the basis to conclude that the plane’s last position was in the middle of the Indian Ocean southwest of Perth, Australia.
“This is a remote location far from any possible landing sites.” he said in a brief statement at a news conference in Kuala Lumpur after 10 p.m. local time.
“It is therefore with deep sadness and regret that I must inform you, that according to this new data, flight MH 370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean,’’ he said.
Razak said he informed relatives of passengers of plane’s fate added that he’s deeply sad. The announcement seems to indicate that the government is resigned that all aboard have perished.
Most passengers on board were Chinese. For nearly three weeks, the Chinese families of passengers have been hoping for a miracle.
But those hopes were dashed upon the annoucemnet. After 17 days of riding an emotional roller coaster the grief for many was too much to bear.
Paramedics were on hand at Beijing’s Lido Hotel, where many Chinese families have been gathered since plane went missing. After hearing the news, several were taken away on stretchers.
Amid the anguish some family members lashed out at journalists. As one family member cried, another yelled at a reporter, telling him to stop asking questions.
China’s state-run CCTV said some hurled water bottles at video journalists standing nearby. The scene at the hotel was chaotic with many crying and wailing.
On China’s social media sites, some were calling on the Chinese government to mark a national day of mourning for those on board MH 370.
The Chinese government has yet to issue a response, but a post on the social media site of the official newspaper of the Communist Party noted that many questions remain.
The post said that until the black box is found, search and rescue efforts cannot stop and pressed for more clarity about evidence that the plane had crashed and an explanation of the new satellite data
Throughout Monday, Australian and Chinese search teams looked for signs of the missing jet in the southern Indian Ocean and reported sighting more debris that may be from the plane.
The latest leads come as the United States prepares to send specialized equipment to aid in the search for the aircraft’s “black box” flight recorder.
During a briefing in Kuala Lumpur, authorities say an Australian plane spotted two objects: one circular and gray and the other rectangular and orange – inside the targeted search area for the plane.
Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott earlier described the sightings as “significant” in the search for the Malaysian flight MH370 with 239 passengers and crew, bound for Beijing on March 8.
“There have been three significant developments – new satellite imagery, new Chinese satellite imagery, does seem to suggest at least one large object consistent with the object that earlier satellite imagery discovered which I told the Australian parliament about last week,” Abbott said.
The search Monday extended to almost 70,000 square kilometers, although weather conditions were reported as poor. Australia’s Maritime Safety Authority said 10 aircraft had been dispatched from Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan, and the United States.
A Chinese icebreaker is reported to have changed course and heading to the area where the latest objects were seen.
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Specialized locater en route
Also Monday, the U.S. Pacific Command said it is sending a specialized locator to assist in the recovery of the vital “black box” flight recorder in the hope a debris field is located.
The locator device is capable of receiving the black box transmitter signals to a depth of 6,100 meters.
Martin Tasker, technical director with the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines, said it is a race against time to find the recorder because the box’s locator batteries will fail after 30 days.
Tasker said a recovery from such depths is similar to the problems posed by the loss in 2009 of an Air France airliner that crashed into the Atlantic.
“In the case of Air France 447 it took two years and they found it and of course the locator beacon had been dead for a long time,” he said.
“So I can’t say how long it will take but they’ll put every effort in just like they did with the Air France event to try and locate, once they know or confirm the area where the aircraft possibly went down. They will then find a way to find the black boxes,” Tasker said.
Despite several sightings of possible debris from the plane, none of the reports have been confirmed as from the missing aircraft.
The initial search of the South China Sea over several days later shifted to the southern Indian Ocean as a possible location for the aircraft after reports the plane’s transponder “pings” had been sent over several hours after the last civilian radar sightings. (VOANEWS) Corben reported from Bangkok and Ide from Bejing.
