Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's announcement that MH370 fell into the Indian Ocean with no survivors last night has dashed hopes built in the last 18 days, and in China, ignited further anger.
This morning, relatives of the 158 Chinese nationals on board called the Malaysian government "executioners" for declaring their loved-ones dead without physical evidence and have angrily marched to the Malaysian consulate in Beijing for answers.No physical evidence is likely to be found soon with Australia suspending the search in the Southern Indian Ocean for at least 24 hours due to rough weather.
"We are not looking for a needle in a haystack. We are still looking to find information on where the haystack is," Australia's Vice Chief of Defence Force Mark Binskin said.
Below are updates and the latest coverage from various sources and news agencies. You can view our earlier updated on the latest coverage for earlier in the day, here:
[More to follow]
5.45pm: The daily press briefing on the status of the ongoing search for MAS Flight MH370 begins. As usual, Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein leads the session, now being held at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) in the centre of Kuala Lumpur.
Here are some of the highlights:
- Hishammuddin says they remain focus on narrowing search area and explains the search operations is "no longer diplomatic, but technical and logistical".
- MAS will take the lead in communicating with families of those on board.
- He says Inmarsat checked it's information against six other Boeing 777 aircraft flying on the same day as MH370.
- Search and rescue on north corridor as well as in the northern part of the souther corridor has been called off. Search efforts are now solely confined to the south Indian Ocean.
- The vessel Ocean Shield, equipted with tow pinger locater, will arrive at search area on April 5.
- Although yesterday's news was “extremely hard” for family members, Hishammuddin says the government viewed it as its responsilibity to reveal the information to them.
- IGP Khalid Abu Bakar says probe into pilot Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah’s home-made flight simulator is ongoing, and that they are awaiting further updates from international bodies aiding the probe.
- Hishammuddin assures Malaysia will continue to search for plane, even should all other aiding nations withdraw from the search. He says Malaysia will rely on expertise shared by investigators into Air France crash in 2009.
- On protest in Beijing earlier today, Hishammuddin says government has been transparent, consistent in its stance despite the various accusation levelled at the country and have been verifying all leads received, for it remains focussed on its aim to find the plane.
5pm: The Australia Maritime Safety Authority (Amsa) states that the search and recovery operations in the southern Indian Ocean will resume tomorrow, when weather conditions are expected to improve.
In a statement, it says twelve aircraft are expected to be involved in the search, including seven military aircraft and five civil aircraft. Meanwhile the Australian HMAS Success vessel will return to the search to attempt to locate and retrieve several ojects sited by serach planes yesterday.
Report: Truth hard to find, even with recording
4.30pm: Aviation experts say that even in the unlikely event that the cockpit voice recorder is found in the choppy Indian Ocean, the mystery over what had happened to MH370 will probably never be solved.
This is as the recorder only retains two hours of conversation before overwriting the recording, making it impossible to know what was said in the cockpit when it flew above the Gulf of Thailand and disappeared from traffic controller radar screens, AFPquotes experts as saying.
The voice recording, which could shed light on the pilot's state of mind, is crucial following data from the flight which shows that someone deliberately flown the plane off-course.
Inmarsat data requested
4pm: In what appears to be dissatisfaction at Malaysia's announcement that Flight MH370 is to be found in the south Indian Ocean and that not one of the 239 on board survived, the Chinese government seems to be taking matters into their own hands.
Reuters reports that China's Foreign Ministry is seeking satellite data from British satellite company Inmarsat, that made thecalculations deducing Flight MH370 landed in the south Indian Ocean.
According to Reuters, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei expresses hope the “relevant country” could provide the data.
Yesterday, the news agency also reported that China's Deputy Foreign Minister Xie Hangsheng had "immediately demanded" all relevant satellite data analysis from Malaysia, to know how Malaysia had reached its conclusion.
This also comes not long after family members and friends of the 153 Chinese nationals on board the aircraft concludes a two-hour long protest at the Malaysian embassy in Beijing, insisting the government "discloses the truth" about Flight MH370 and its actual whereabouts.
M'sia 'setting example' in unity
3.30pm: Acting Transport Minister Hishamuddin Hussein lauds Malaysia's unity in the crisis, and goes on to say the country is "setting an example" about unity for a disunited world.
"The word is not united. But we are setting an example, we are setting a precedent," he tells Parliament while wrapping the emergency motion on MH370 tabled by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak in the morning.
Meanwhile, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Joseph Kurup earlier proposes that March 8 be made "national prayers day" in remembrance of MH370.
Protest winds down
3pm: The more than two-hour long protest outside the Malaysian embassy in Beijing by families of 153 passengers aboard Flight MH370 ends, reports theguardian.The Star, meanwhile, reports that the group handed a statement to an embassy officer.
To recap, the families are accusing the Malaysian government of withholding the truth about Flight MH370, a claim PM Najib Abdul Razak refuted in Parliament earlier in the day.
Rough weather force retreat
2.35pm: BBC says strong winds and driving rain continue to bring search efforts to a halt.
“Large waves have forced an Australian navy ship to retreat from the search area in the southern Indian Ocean. The latest forecast predicts that the wild weather could continue for a day or two."
Liverpool FC stands by chief steward's daughter
2pm: The New Straits Times reports the family of MH370 chief steward Andrew Peter Nari is staying put in Kuala Lumpur to await further news in the search for the missing aircraft.
Meanwhile last night's tweet by English football club Liverpool FC to Nari's daughter Maira, who goes by Twitter handle @Gorgxous is being retweeted more than 7,697 times."We prayed your father would come home @Gorgxous. Tonight our thoughts are with you and families of all those lost. You won't walk alone," reads the tweet.
Maira had previously tweeted during a Liverpool match appealing for her father, a Liverpool fan, to come home to watch the game.
Bottles fly as Chinese families' anger mounts
1.58pm: Protestors in Beijing, family members of passengers said to have perished onboard MAS Flight MH370, begin throwing water bottles at police officials forming a human wall surrounding the Malaysian embassy. Read the Reuters report here.
Concert, film scrapped
1.35pm: A Hollywood movie, sequel to an Australian air disaster flick, is also postponed.Dpa, citing theHollywood Reporter, says the film, Deep Water which is a follow up to Bait 3D, is shelved as due to “uncomfortable similarities” between its plot line and the MH370 tragedy.
1.31pm: Organisers of the Twin Towers @ Live 2014 agree to scrap the concert, slated for March 28 and 29.
In a report byBernama, Petronas announces together with concert organiser Live @ Work Sdn Bhd, they decided to cancel the concert as a sign of respect to the families and loved ones of the passengers and crew of Flight MH370.
“As sponsors, we will honour our obligation to ensure all related parties impacted by this cancellation be treated fairly,” Petronas is quoted saying.
MAS provides financial aid to families
1.11pm: To recap, below is the number passengers and crew who were on board ill-fated Flight MH370, according to nationality:
- China / Taiwan - 152, plus 1 infant
- Malaysia - 38
- Indonesia - 7
- Australia - 6
- France - 3
- United States - 3, plus 1 infant
- New Zealand - 2
- Ukraine - 2
- Canada - 2
- Russia - 1
- Iran - 2
- India - 5
- Netherlands - 1
According to theguardian this is what MAS CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya (right) says:
"Our sole and only motivation last night…was that families heard the tragic news before the world did.
"Wherever humanly possible we did so in human with the families or by telephone.… Ensuring that they heard the news from us, and not the media."
- BBC quotes Ahmad Jauhari: "We do not know why, we do not know how, we do not know how this terrible tragedy happened."
- Asked if he would resign over the MH370 incident during a press conference, to which, he replies: "That is a personal decision." Read story here.
He also reiterates that SMS to the families was a last resort - apart from meeting them in person and phone calls - in informing some 1,000 family members.
- MAS is also preparing to provide additional financial assistance to families as the search for the plane continues, up to US$5,000 (RM15,000) per passenger, and is preparing to offer additional payments if necessary.
- MAS officials are also quizzed on how a crash had been ascertained in the absence of any debris being positively identified.
- To a question is Malaysian officials were "heartless", MAS says it put the passengers and their families first, and adds that depending who you speak to you, you will hear different versions of what happened.
- "By the evidence given to us and rational deduction we could only arrive at that conclusion that we had lost the plane and by extension the people on the plane....We all feel enormous sorrow and pain. Sorrow that all those who boarded Flight MH370 on Saturday, March 8, will not see their families again... It must be remembered too that 13 of our own colleagues and fellow Malaysians were also on board," Ahmad Jauhari says.
- Bernama quotes MAS chairperson Md Nor Yusof as saying that missing flight MH370 is an unprecedented event followed by unprecedented response.
12.35pm: In Beijing, theguardian reports that protesters have reached the Malaysian embassy but are being prevented from entering by guards.
'Not needle, we're trying to find the haystack'
12.34pm: Australian Defence Minister David Johnston says waves at the search area are 20 to 30metres high and many ships have been shipwrecked in that part of the ocean before, including very big ships.
He tells reporters in Western Australia that authorities will not risk safety of rescuers and so expect to wait out 24 hours.He also confirms that no debris has been lifted out of the ocean as yet.
Meanwhile, Australia's Vice Chief of Defence Force Mark Binskin says: "We are not looking for a needle in a haystack. We are still trying to find information on where the haystack is."
Binskin says that cooperation between all nations involved have been "very good" and that the debris is still "visible by aircraft" but "it could be any debris from anywhere in the world".
12.20pm: According to the BBC, Australia's Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss informs that (Royal Australian Navy) ship HMAS Success has not met with success in recovering any of the suspected debris spotted by search planes yesterday.
"Not a lot of progress has been made overnight and unfortunately there will be little capacity to search today and perhaps even into tomorrow."
Background:
- The Beijing-bound Boeing 777-200ER aircraft went missing not long after taking off from KL International Airport in the early hours of March 8, with 12 crew members and 227 passengers.
- Authorities have determined the plane intentionally made a turn-back and altered its course shortly after cutting communications with tower controllers for unknown reasons.
- Its whereabouts is now narrowed to the southern Indian Ocean after employing a "new analysis" method to deduce the location based on six pings the aircraft sent out to British satellite communications provider Inmarsat's satellite before disappearing into the waters.
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