Malaysia’s Prime Minister Says Data Shows Plane Went Down In Indian Ocean

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia's prime minister says a new analysis of satellite data indicates the missing Malaysia Airlines plane plunged into a remote corner of the Indian Ocean.

The news is a major breakthrough in the unprecedented two-week struggle to find out what happened to Flight 370. It disappeared shortly after takeoff from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 passengers and crew aboard on March 8.

The prime minister (Najib Razak) announced the news with what he called "deep sadness and regret" in a brief news conference. He said Malaysia Airlines has informed the families of passengers of the plane's fate.

The Malaysian leader said the information was based on an analysis of satellite data from Inmarsat.

Today, ships are headed to an area of the southern Indian Ocean where floating objects were spotted. They include a vessel that has equipment to detect the plane's black box.

188-a-09-(Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, in statement)-"possible landing sites"-Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak says analysis shows the jet's last position was in the middle of the Indian Ocean, west of Perth. (24 Mar 2014)

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