Official declaration on MH370

UPDATE:Malaysia has finally declared the disappearance of MH370 as an accident, during a delayed press conference at the DCA headquarters in Putrajaya today.

It also declared that all 239 passengers and crew are believed to have 'perished'.

In making the announcement, the Malaysian government stressed that the search for the Boeing 777 remains a priority.The government is committed to continuing all reasonable efforts to bring closure to this unfortunate tragedy, with the continuing cooperation and assistance of the governments of China and Australia, said Department of Civil Aviation director-general Datuk Azharuddin Abdul Rahman.Appearing in a televised broadcast over the RTM1 television channel, he said: "It's with the heaviest heart and deepest sorrow that, on behalf of the Government of Malaysia, we officially declare Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 an accident ... and that all 239 of the passengers and crew on board MH370 are presumed to have lost their lives.""We have endeavoured and pursued every credible lead and reviewed all available data. Despite all these efforts over the last 327 days (as of yesterday), the search unfortunately has yet to yield the location of the missing aircraft," he said.

Earlier posting: A press conference at the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) in Putrajaya, scheduled at 3.30pm today was abruptly cancelled.

Media members, local and abroad, who convened at the building since 1pm to get latest news about the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, were left puzzling.

A DCA spokesperson only said it was called off due to 'unforeseen circumstances'.

The DCA was today transformed into a congregation point for the media, following key updates on the Boeing 777-200 which vanished since March 8 last year.

Invitations have been sent out to media outlets and circulated hours before members of the local and foreign media began trickling into the building as early as 1pm.

According to the invite, a press conference was scheduled to be held at the DCA's Multipurpose Hall at 3.30pm.
Broadcast vans from media outlets to facilitate live feed were spotted stationed outside the DCA building in Precint 4.
Apart from the media interest, the DCA building was a hive of activity for another reason - small stalls were set up to sell a variety of goods.

The MH370 Boeing 777-200ER aircraft carrying 239 passengers and crew members, disappeared from the radar while enroute to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur on March 8.

Its flight path was believed to have ended in the southern Indian Ocean.


Let's hope DCA will come up with a 'valid explanation' for cancelling the media briefing. Not nice to treat the Press in such a manner!