For a larger image, click here. (Image: Adrienne Mong/Twitter)

THIS WAS THE text message that Malaysian Airlines sent to relatives of the passengers of missing flight MH370 today to inform them of the latest development in the search.

The SMS was used to tell families that it is now believed the plane went down in the Indian Ocean and that there are no survivors.

At a press conference this afternoon, the country’s Prime Minister said that following analysis of fresh data, it has to be assumed “beyond any reasonable doubt that MH370 ended in the Indian Ocean”.

The move to tell families the latest development by SMS has been criticised by many social media users.

Here is the full text of that statement by Malaysian PM Najib Razak:

“This evening I was briefed by representatives from the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB). They informed me that Inmarsat, the UK company that provided the satellite data which indicated the northern and southern corridors, has been performing further calculations on the data. Using a type of analysis never before used in an investigation of this sort, they have been able to shed more light on MH370′s flight path.

Based on their new analysis, Inmarsat and the AAIB have concluded that MH370 flew along the southern corridor, and that its last position was in the middle of the Indian Ocean, west of Perth.

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.

We will be holding a press conference tomorrow with further details. In the meantime, we wanted to inform you of this new development at the earliest opportunity. We share this information out of a commitment to openness and respect for the families, two principles which have guided this investigation.

Malaysia Airlines have already spoken to the families of the passengers and crew to inform them of this development. For them, the past few weeks have been heartbreaking; I know this news must be harder still. I urge the media to respect their privacy, and to allow them the space they need at this difficult time.”

Read: Malaysian PM confirms that flight MH370 went down in the Indian Ocean west of Perth