Malaysia Airlines has told the families of those on board the missing plane that relatives must assume MH370 has been lost.
The Malaysian Prime Minister has said that according to their latest data the missing Malaysian Airlines flight crashed in the southern Indian Ocean.
Relatives were called to an emergency meeting in Beijing as the airline confirmed there is evidence to suggest the flight crashed into the sea.
It comes as hopes are raised that objects spotted by search teams hunting for the plane could be recovered today.
The Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak spoke at a press conference earlier.
In a statement, the airline said "Malaysia Airlines deeply regrets that we have to assume that MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean".
"On behalf of all of us at Malaysia Airlines and all Malaysians, our prayers go out to all the loved ones of the 226 passengers and of our 13 friends and colleagues at this enormously painful time".
"The ongoing multinational search operation will continue, as we seek answers to the questions which remain. Alongside the search for MH370, there is an intensive investigation, which we hope will also provide answers" it added.
MH370 relatives scream as they are told news by text
The airline said that the majority of the families, in advance of the Prime Minister’s statement, were informed in person and by phone.
It says texts were "used only as an additional means of communicating with the families".
Operation continues
An Australian military ship is meanwhile hoping to retrieve two objects that might be from the missing Malaysian airliner within the next few hours.
An Australian plane searching for missing flight MH370 located the objects within the search area. The objects were spotted about 1,550 miles southwest of Perth by a Royal Australian Air Force P3 Orion aircraft.
The crew reported seeing a circular object, either grey or green in colour. The second object was orange and rectangular. The Australian military ship HMAS Success is the only vessel currently within the search area.
The vessel will attempt to retrieve the two objects within the next few hours. Details of the sighting emerged during a press conference held by Malaysia's acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein earlier today.
Blake Johnson from Seven News says an Australian navy vessel is nearby and spoke to the Pat Kenny Show here on Newstalk earlier.
The objects are believed to be separate from several "suspicious" floating objects sighted by a Chinese search plane earlier today.
The crew of the military Ilyushin-76 aircraft saw "white and square" objects dispersed over several kilometres in the southern Indian Ocean, according to China's official news agency.
They included two "relatively big" objects and several smaller ones, and they were seen near an area identified by satellite imagery as containing possible debris from the missing airliner.
Earlier, the crew of the Chinese Ilyushin-76 plane spotted "white and square" floating objects dispersed over several kilometres, Xinhua said.
They included two "relatively big" objects and several smaller ones scattered within a radius of "several kilometres". A Chinese icebreaker is also making its way to the area.
