DHAKA: ‘Flight MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean,’ Malaysia’s prime minister Najib Razak said on Monday.

Families of passengers and crew have been informed and will be flown to Australia.

Further details will be given at a press conference on Tuesday, reports The Straits Times.

Malaysia Airlines (MAS) has informed families of passengers on board missing flight MH370 that the plane is assumed to have crashed with no survivors.

The airline said this in a message to the families on Monday night, ahead of a press conference by Malaysian premier Najib.

‘It is with deep sadness and regret that I must inform you that MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean,’ Najib told a press briefing shortly after the news broke.

He said based on new analysis, it is concluded that MH370 flew along the southern corridor, last position in the middle of the Indian Ocean.

The area is in a remote location, far from any land sites, he added.

He said MAS has briefed the families and Malaysia will hold another press conference on Tuesday. He urged the media to respect the families` privacy and to give them space and time to grieve over their losses.

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.

BDST: 2042 HRS, MAR 24, 2014

** Families told missing plane lost