Malaysia Airlines says "we must now accept all evidence suggests the plane went down in the Southern Indian Ocean
Search for flight M370 - 25th March
Jeremy Clarkson has been accused of bad timing after he posted the tweet below.
He's racing to Moscow and earlier he tweeted pictures of Richard Hammond on a plane.
When one person pulled him up saying "bad taste clarkson concidering [sic] the news about the Malaysian plane earlier", Clarkson responded: "You are indeed pathetic. We all knew it was lost several weeks ago."
Here's a map showing the approximate location of the missing plane.
There were heartbreaking scenes in Beijing after families of people on board were told there was no chance that their relatives survived.
This man appeared inconsolable at the Lido Hotel as he reacted following today's news conference.
Families now face waiting to see if the fuselage of the plane is ever found so they can hold funerals for victims of the disaster.
Here is Prime Minister Najib Razak's full statement.
"This evening I was briefed by representatives from the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB).
"They informed me that 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 their new analysis, Inmarsat and the AAIB have 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."
"We will be holding a press conference 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.
"Malaysia Airlines have already spoken to the families of the passengers and the crew to inform them of this 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 allow them the space they need at this very difficult time."
Acting Transport Minister Hishammudin Hussein tweeted his condolences.
He added: "In these times of grief, I urge the public to give the family members some space, respect their privacy"
Malaysia Airlines sent this text message to relatives:
"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."
Many of the relatives are screaming and crying loudly as a result of the news that nobody survived the crash of the Malaysia Airlines plane.
Paramedics have gone into the briefing to try and help the shocked relatives who have now got to come to terms with the deaths of their loved ones.
Some are consoling others at the briefing in Beijing while others are now planning to be in Australia to be closer to the search.
So all hope has now gone for discovering the plane and the 239 lives on board.
UK satellites and analysis by the Air Accident Investigation Board showed the plane went down to the west of Perth where the search will continue for the debris and ultimately the black box.
The mood was sombre at the press conference as Prime Minister Najib Razak spoke about the heartbreaking news.
The families of the passengers and crew have been updated.
This news ends all hope that they could be found alive.
PM Razak asks for people to respect them "at this very difficult time".
Satellite data based on the new analysis, Inmarsat and the AAIB have concluded that MH370 flew along the southern corridor and that its last position was in the middle of the the Indian Ocean, west of Perth.
It came down killing everyone on board in the southern Indian Ocean.
Prime Minister Najib Razak has now entered the press conference.
He said that this evening he was briefed by the UK's AAIB who told him that Inmarsat, a UK satellite company, had performed further calculations on the data.
Using never-before-used techniques they have shed more light on the flight path.
The families of the people on board MH370 have been told that the plane went down and "no one on board survived", according to the Daily Telegraph.
Sky News is currently reporting that the airline has told them that we can only assume beyond doubt that the plane went down in the ocean.
Below is a picture of Prime Minister Najib Razak as he finalises his press statement.
Acting transport minister Hishammuddin Hussein sits alongside him.
The Prime Minster will NOT be taking questions from the press. It is just a statement.
It's worth noting what acting transport minister Hishammuddin Hussein said a little earlier.
He did not say whether the plane was discovered, he just hinted that the search area could be reduced.
Here's what he said: "There is some development. Whatever it is, the focus is to reduce the search area, so anything that [the Prime Minister] announces is in relation to the reduction."
Here is a picture of the press pack at the Putra World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur.
A briefing of families has already got underway in Beijing.
According to Jonathan Samuels from Sky News, paramedics have also arrived as families rushed to the briefing room.
Stay with us for updates on the briefing.
Some families of people on board are being prepared to fly to Australia according to Sky News.
A relative of a passenger said that she has not been told any more info other than that there's an emergency briefing.
Officials are staying very tight-lipped about the emergency briefing that will be held in half an hour at 2pm (GMT).
But acting transport minister Hishammuddin Hussein has spoken to politicians on the issue for the first time since the plane went missing.
He said: "There is some development. Whatever it is, the focus is to reduce the search area, so anything that [the Prime Minister] announces is in relation to the reduction."
Relatives of people on the missing Malaysia Airlines flight have been called to an emergency briefing which is due to start shortly.
Soon after that there will be a press briefing by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.
We'll keep you up to date with information as soon as we have it.
The Prime Minister of Malaysia is to hold a press conference at 2pm (GMT) to give an update on developments in the search for the missing plane.
That is 10pm local time, so this could be a significant development as it is not one of the scheduled press briefings that takes place at 9.30am (GMT) each day.
Here's a picture of the objects seen from a Chinese plane earlier today.
HMAS Success is nearby, but the search has been called off as darkness falls.
Here's a bit more info about the extra debris that was spotted during a search by an Australian plane earlier today.
However, the pictures taken of the objects are very unclear.
At least three of the items were one metre long or more.
Andrew Thomas from Al Jazeera's Sydney bureau, who was on the flight, said that five objects were seen by the crew and two were photographed.
Sightings were about an hour into the search part of the flight . . . and the spots fairly regularly paced after that for 1.5 hours. #MH370
— ANDREW THOMAS (@AlJazSydANDREW) March 24, 2014Darkness has fallen on the search area meaning the aerial search has now been called off for today.
However, Australia's HMAS Success is in the area and it is thought that it can start searching for debris, albeit at a much slower pace.
However, AMSA's John Young said: "We're not sure whether [HMAS] Success aill be able to find [the objects spotted from a plane] tonight."
The U.S. Navy has moved a black box locater to the south Indian Ocean in the hope that it could pick up a signal from the Malaysian Airline's black box.
It can track the boxes in seas up to 20,000ft (6,000 metres) deep.
Commander Chris Budde from the U.S. Seventh Fleet Operations Officer said: "In the event a debris field is located, we're moving some specialised locater equipment into the area.
"The Towed Pinger Locater has some highly sensitive listening capability so that if the wreck site is located, we can hear the black box pinger down to a depth of about 20,000 ft.
"Basically this super-sensitive hydrophone gets towed behind a commercial vessel very slowly and listens for black box pings."
The deputy chief of the Malaysian navy tweeted this picture showing the location of different ships.
The Chinese icebreaker Xue Long is on her way while Australia's HMAS Success is currently in the location of the possible debris.
Chinese Icebreaker Xue Long still making her way whilst HMAS Success is in location to recover possible debris pic.twitter.com/OnPhgCtKMA
— VADM Kamarul (@mykamarul) March 24, 2014This picture was tweeted by Bevan Shields showing a flare being dropped at the site of lots of flotsam in the southern Indian Ocean.
Pic of flare dropped from RAAF plane at sight of debris #mh370. pic.twitter.com/rJhd7HOuSM
— Bevan Shields (@bevanshields85) March 24, 2014There were more objects in the area of the southern Indian Ocean than just the orange and green or grey items that the Australian government told us about.
Pictures were taken of the two objects - an orange rectangle and circular green or grey circular item - but other bits were spotted.
HMAS Success should be in the area or arriving shortly to see if it can shed any light on what the floating objects actually are.
The sole journo aboard RAAF plane that spotted the new debris says two pieces were photographed but more were spotted. #mh370
— Bevan Shields (@bevanshields85) March 24, 2014It has been claimed that the missing plane dropped to as low as 12,000ft after it banked to the left over the South China Sea.
A source close to the investigation said it dropped several thousand feet before vanishing from the radar.
Aviation analyst Miles O'Brien told CNN why the pilot might want to reduce the height so quickly.
He said: "You want to get down to 10,000 feet, because that is when you don't have to worry about pressurisation. You have enough air in the atmosphere naturally to keep everybody alive.
"So part of the procedure for a rapid decompression - it's called a high dive, and you go as quickly as you can down to that altitude."
The co-pilot on the missing Malaysia Airlines flight had never flown a Boeing 777 before, it emerged today.
Chief executive of the airline, Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said the company was "very strict" in making sure pilots were properly trained and evaluated for the task of flying a bigger plane.
Fariq Abdul Hamid had been monitored by pilots on five previous flights on 777s, but this was his first without.
Mr Jauhari confirmed: "The co-pilot is new to the type, he has moved up from our lower fleet."
A "high-level team" from Malaysia has been in Beijing where they fielded hundreds of questions during a twelve-hour briefing.
They requested radar readings and other data, although some of their questions could not be answered because of the ongoing investigation.
The team is now discussing the matters raised at the meeting and will return to Beijing tomorrow.
Acting transport minister Hishammuddin Hussein said: "It has always been our intention to keep the families as fully informed as possible. We continue to do so."
Here's a bit more info on the objects that have been spotted in the southern Indian Ocean:
Chinese and Australian planes have spotted several objects in an area identified by multiple satellite images as containing possible debris from the missing Malaysian airliner.
Australian prime minister Tony Abbott said the crew on board an Australian P3 Orion had located two objects in the search zone - the first grey or green and circular, the second orange and rectangular.
An Australian navy supply ship, the HMAS Success, was on the scene today trying to locate and recover the objects, and Malaysia's defence minister Hishammuddin Hussein said the vessel could reach them within a few hours or by Tuesday morning.
Separately, the crew aboard one of two Chinese IL-76 aircraft combing the search zone observed two large objects and several smaller ones spread across several square kilometres, Xinhua News Agency reported. At least one of the items - a white, square-shaped object - was captured on a camera aboard the plane, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said.
This picture shows something of a media scrum around an Al Jazeera cameraman.
He was on an Australian plane that this morning spotted more potential pieces of debris.
Media pack trying to get a glimpse of footage taken by Al Jazeera cameraman who was onboard RAAF Orion plane #MH370 pic.twitter.com/q1Myj0cBTj
— Jade Macmillan (@JadeMacmillan1) March 24, 2014
During the briefing, minister Hussein said: "On the police investigation, we can confirm that the police have interviewed more than a hundred people, including families of both the pilot and co-pilot.
"As far as the transcript is concerned, the technical committee is considering releasing it and we will keep you informed about the decision.
"The Inspector General of the Police will attend tomorrow’s press conference to answer further questions on the investigation.
"We can also confirm that MH370 was carrying wooden pallets. However, there is as yet no evidence that these are related to the wooden pallets reportedly sighted in the Australian search area."
Mr Hussein said that searches were now focusing on satellite data.
He told the media briefing: "New leads into MH370’s possible location have come from satellite data. This was one of the four tools we identified that could narrow the search area, along with surveillance radar data, increasing surface and air assets, and bringing in more technical experts.
"The most recent images were obtained by French satellites, which captured radar images of potential objects in the vicinity of the southern corridor on 21st March. These images were received by Malaysia on the evening of the 22nd March, and were relayed to RCC Australia on the morning of the 23rd March, as they are leading the search in that particular area of the southern corridor.
"This morning we have received a further set of images from French satellites, this time captured by cameras. These images were taken yesterday and have been relayed to RCC Australia."
An Australian aircraft scouring the southern Indian Ocean for signs of a Malaysia Airlines jet missing for more than two weeks has spotted two new objects, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said today.
Abbott told parliament an Australian naval vessel was near where the objects, one circular and greenish grey in colour and the second orange and rectangular, had been seen and hoped to be able to recover them soon.
A Chinese search aircraft earlier reported seeing several different objects but a U.S. navy aircraft failed to find them.
Speaking about the development during today's media briefing, acting transport minister Hishammuddin Hussein said: "A few minutes ago the Prime Minister [of Malaysia] received a call from the Prime Minister of Australia, who informed him that an Australian search aircraft had located two objects in the Australian search area, one circular and one rectangular.
"HMAS Success is in the vicinity and it is possible that the objects could be received within the next few hours, or by tomorrow morning at the latest."
That concludes today's press conference.
The search continues as more reports are coming in from different nations that they have spotted items floating in the southern Indian Ocean.
However, none of those items has yet given any conclusive evidence over the whereabouts of the plane.
Malaysia is not discounting the potential for the plane to have been sabotaged.
But a lack of "ransom notes" or demands means the case is still open to speculation, minister Hussein says.
Australia today said that objects have been located by a Royal Australian Air Force P3 Orion.
In a statement the Maritime Safety Authority said: "HMAS Success is on scene and is attempting to locate the objects in the search for missing Malaysia Aircraft flight MH370.
"The objects were spotted in the search area about 2500 kilometres south-west of Perth by the RAAF Orion about 2.45pm (AEDT) (3.45am GMT).
"The crew on board the Orion reported seeing two objects – the first a grey or green circular object and the second an orange rectangular object.
"The objects identified by the RAAF Orion are separate to the objects reported by the Chinese Ilyushin IL-76 to AMSA earlier today.
"The objects reported by the Chinese were also within today’s search area."
Asked what he would do differently, minister Hussein said he is "looking forward not back".
He says he remains focused on the search and co-ordinating the 26 nations involved.
Chief executive Ahmad Lauhari is asked about a Malaysia Airlines plane that was involved in bird strike.
Initial reports said that the windscreen was broken, but it was actually a landing light.
He also said that a problem on a plane that was diverted to Hong Kong was not a safety issue.
He said that police have interviewed more than 100 people. Malaysia is considering releasing a transcript.
The plane was carrying wooden pallets, but there is no evidence that it relates to wooden pallets found in the southern Indian Ocean.
The search continues.
Families have been asking for detailed radar information, but that is being held back at the moment.
After 12 hours of questions the team from Kuala Lumpur has returned from Beijing.
HMS Echo is refuelling in the Maldives and will be sailing to the search location throughout today.
New leads have come from satellite data, he confirms.
A few minutes ago the PM of Malaysia had received a call from Australia saying that there was a circular and rectangular object identified and ships are on their way to the area now.
Acting transport minister Hishammuddin Hussein is leading proceedings as usual.
He confirms that the search is continuing and that new information means the focus continues to be in the southern Indian Ocean.
Two orange objects and a white coloured object were identified but they have not yet been found or linked to the missing plane.
A press conference is due to get underway shortly into the missing flight.
The media briefings have been moved from the Sana-Sana Hotel to the Putra World Trade Centre.
Ahmad Lauhari, chief executive of Malaysia Airlines, has released a video statement on the missing flight.
He said that the company remains committed to keeping families informed with information when it is available and has been corroborated.
Mr Lauhari also expresses his thoughts for the families and friends of passengers and crew on board.
Photographs were taken of the white objects spotted by the Chinese IL-76 plane as it flew at 33,000ft.
Hopefully we will get to see those later.
There was a news crew on board the search plane as the potential debris was spotted.
Australian authorities said a U.S. Navy P-8 Poseidon, the most advanced search aircraft in the world, had been unable to find objects spotted earlier today by a Chinese aircraft hunting for clues to the missing Malaysia jet in the Indian Ocean.
"A US Navy P-8 Poseidon aircraft was tasked to investigate reported object sightings by the Chinese aircraft made at 33,000 ft," an AMSA spokeswoman said.
"The objects were spotted by the Chinese aircraft as it was heading back to Perth. Drift modelling was undertaken on the sighting. The P-8 was unable to relocate the reported objects."
The Chinese Ilyushin IL-76 aircraft spotted two "relatively big" floating objects and several smaller white ones dispersed over several kilometers, the Xinhua news agency reported earlier.
A Malaysia Airlines flight carrying 271 people from Malaysia to South Korea was today forced to make an unscheduled landing in Hong Kong after a technical fault involving an onboard generator, the airline said.
Flight MH066 departed from Kuala Lumpur at 11.37 p.m. (1537 GMT Sunday) bound for Seoul's Incheon airport. The flight, however, was diverted to Hong Kong's international airport where it landed safely at around 3 a.m., the airline said.
Malaysia Airlines said the Airbus A330-300 jet was diverted because of an inoperative generator. There was no loss of power because an auxilliary generator took over.
All 271 passengers were transferred to other carriers, the airline said, while the return flight from Incheon to Kuala Lumpur was cancelled. Passengers have been transferred to other flights for the return leg.
A spokeswoman for the Hong Kong airport said the plane landed safely less than 30 minutes after it notified the airport. She said it was not classified as an emergency landing, although emergency services were put on standby.
China's Foreign Ministry said it could not confirm that objects spotted by a Chinese military aircraft earlier in the day were connected with the missing Malaysia Airlines jetliner.
The comments were made by ministry spokesman Hong Lei at a daily news briefing.
Hong also said Chinese ships are expected to start arriving tomorrow in the search area of the southern Indian Ocean.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority today published the image below showing the areas where the search has taken place and today's planned search area.
There are 10 aircraft involved in the search from China, Australia, the U.S. and Japan.
Today's search area is about 1,224 miles from Perth.
Bad weather is expected to affect the search as rain, wind and low cloud affect visibility.
The Australian Bureau of Meteorology said a cold front would bring showers.
However, tropical cyclone Gillian, which is relatively near, is not expected to affect the search area.
The Chinese plane was one of two Ilyushins that joined the search today from Perth, increasing the number of aircraft to 10 from eight a day earlier.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority's rescue co-ordination centre said the weather in the area, about 2,500 1,550 miles from Perth, was expected to deteriorate with rain likely.
Australian transport minister Warren Truss said "nothing of note" was found yesterday, which he described as a "fruitless day".
"It's going to be a challenge, but we'll stick at it," he told Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio before the first aircraft left Perth at dawn.
"We're just, I guess, clutching at whatever little piece of information comes along to try and find a place where we might be able to concentrate the efforts."
An Australian C-130J loadmaster releases a data marker buoy as part of the search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370. pic.twitter.com/H9kdZu2QQT
— Code One (@codeonemagazine) March 24, 2014
Satellite images from Australia and China had earlier identified possible debris in the area that may be linked to the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 on March 8 with 239 people aboard.
The US Pacific command said it was sending a black box locator in case a debris field is located.
The Towed Pinger Locator, which is pulled behind a vessel at slow speeds, has highly sensitive listening capability so that if the wreck site is located, it can hear the black box pinger down to a depth of about 20,000 feet.
Commander Chris Budde, a US Seventh Fleet operations officer, said: "This movement is simply a prudent effort to preposition equipment and trained personnel closer to the search area so that if debris is found we will be able to respond as quickly as possible since the battery life of the black box's pinger is limited."
A Chinese plane crew spotted a white, square-shaped object in an area identified by satellite imagery as containing possible debris from the missing Malaysian airliner.
The development came as the United States prepared to move a specialised device that can locate black boxes into the region.
The crew aboard an IL-76 plane sighted the object in the southern Indian Ocean search area today.
It reported the coordinates to the Australian command centre, which is leading the multinational search, as well as the Chinese icebreaker Snow Dragon, which is on its way to the area, Xinhua News Agency reported.
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