Late Monday, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak told a press conference in Kuala Lumpur that the missing plane "ended" in the southern Indian Ocean.
The conclusion was made by the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch and Inmarsat, the British company that provided the satellite data, according to the Malaysian prime minister.
"This is a remote location, far from any possible landing sites," said Najib, adding that more details will be announced at a press briefing Tuesday morning.
The announcement ended more than two weeks of wild speculation over the fate of the plane and dealt a devastating blow to relatives who had been still clinging to the hope their beloved ones might somehow survived.