FAMILIES TOLD MH370 PLANE LOST IN INDIAN OCEAN

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has informed the families of those missing on flight MH370 that the plane likely crashed in the Indian Ocean west of Perth.

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.

No confirmed sighting of the plane has been made since, but much debris has been found in remote waters off Australia which might be part of the missing plane.

Malaysian Airlines said on Monday it was now "beyond any reasonable doubt" that missing flight MH370 had been lost and there were no survivors.

"Malaysia Airlines have already spoken to the families of the passengers and crew to inform them of this development," said the prime minister.

"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."

Source: Al Jazeera