Malaysian Prime Minister Press Conference: Read the Transcript

Photo courtesy of Twitter.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak held a press conference Monday to address new findings in the sad case of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. The full transcript of his address follows:

“This evening I was briefed by representatives from the UK Air Accident investigation branch, or AAIB. They inform me that Inmarsat, the UK company that provided the satellite data which indicated 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 newest development at 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 has already spoken to the family of the passengers and crew to inform them of this development.

“For them the past few weeks have been heartbreaking. I know this news must be hard as well.

I urge the media to respect their privacy and allow them the space they need at this very difficult time.”