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| UK firm behind Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 breakthrough | UK firm behind Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 breakthrough |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The revelation that flight MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean is based on new analysis by UK investigators and the British satellite firm Inmarsat, Malaysia's prime minister has said. | The revelation that flight MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean is based on new analysis by UK investigators and the British satellite firm Inmarsat, Malaysia's prime minister has said. |
| Najib Razak said relatives of the flight's 239 passengers and crew had been told of the "heartbreaking" news. | Najib Razak said relatives of the flight's 239 passengers and crew had been told of the "heartbreaking" news. |
| Inmarsat used new techniques to find the plane's last position, he said. | |
| The UK's Air Accidents Investigation Branch, which probes serious civil aircraft incidents, was also involved. | The UK's Air Accidents Investigation Branch, which probes serious civil aircraft incidents, was also involved. |
| Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 went missing after taking off from Kuala Lumpur on 8 March. | Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 went missing after taking off from Kuala Lumpur on 8 March. |
| The announcement came as the international search effort reached a fifth day of operations in the southern Indian Ocean. | |
| 'Quite astounding' | |
| Inmarsat has told the BBC it gave the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) the new data on Sunday - adding it needed to be checked before it was made public. | |
| The firm said its latest calculation involved a large amount of data analysis, focusing on a number of factors including the movements of other aircraft. | |
| It involved an entirely new way of modelling which is why the analysis took some time, the firm added. | |
| A spokeswoman for the AAIB said: "As set out by the Malaysian prime minister, we have been working with the UK company Inmarsat, using satellite data to determine the area on which to focus the search. | |
| "We are not able to comment further on this investigation, which is being led by the Malaysian authorities." | |
| Oceanographer Dr Simon Boxall, from the University of Southampton, told the BBC that Inmarsat had been tracking data, rather than locations. | |
| "The algorithms and the techniques they've applied to try and locate to within a certain area where the last transmission was made is really quite phenomenal - but also quite tragic because it does show this plane was heading to an open area of ocean." | |
| Dr Boxall continued: "They [Inmarsat] started from scratch. They've probably crammed almost a year's worth of research into maybe a couple of weeks so it's not a routine calculation they would ever, ever make. | |
| "So they've been looking at all the signals they have, all the recordings they have, and processing that many times over to try and pinpoint where the plane's signal came from. Technologically it's really quite astounding." | |
| He added that Inmarsat must have run through its calculation a number of times and "wouldn't have released this sort of information without being 100% certain". | |
| 'Deep sadness' | |
| Mr Razak told a news conference in Kuala Lumpur that works by the AAIB and Inmarsat had revealed that MH370's last position was in the ocean west of Perth, Australia. | |
| He said: "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." | |
| Speaking of the families of passengers and crew, he added: "For them, the past few weeks have been heartbreaking. I know this news must be harder still." | |
| Mr Razak said a news conference would be held on Tuesday with further details. | |
| Malaysia Airlines communicated the news to relatives in a text message ahead of Mr Razak's announcement. |