The news is a major breakthrough in the unprecedented two-week struggle to find out what happened to Flight 370, which disappeared shortly after takeoff from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 passengers and crew aboard on March 8.
Dressed in a black suit, Najib announced the news "with deep sadness and regret" in a brief news conference late Monday night.
He said Malaysia Airlines has informed the families of passengers of the plane's fate.
Najib said the information was based on an unprecedented analysis of satellite data from Inmarsat.
Read highlights of Malaysian PM's press conference:
- Regret Missing MH370 plane 'lost' and none on board survived
- Last position in the middle of Indian Ocean
- The last position was a remote location- far from any possible landing site
- Airline has spoken to families
- Deep sadness and regret that the search ended in the deep southern Indian Ocean
- MH370's last known position was far from any possible landing site
- Malaysia Airlines have already spoken to relatives saying that it is to be "assumed beyond any reasonable doubt" that MH370 has been lost
- A multinational search is continuing in the southern Indian Ocean on Monday for the missing plane
- Ten planes scoured the southern Indian Ocean area on Monday for possible debris and have all now left the search area
20 employees on missing Malaysia Airlines plane:
A Texas semiconductor firm said on Saturday that 20 of its employees were confirmed passengers aboard a missing Malaysia Airlines jet that has abruptly vanished.
Among the Freescale Semiconductor employees aboard Flight MH370 were 12 people from Malaysia and another eight from China, president and CEO Gregg Lowe said.
"At present, we are solely focused on our employees and their families," he added in a statement. "Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected by this tragic event."
Rescuers were still hunting for the whereabouts of the twin-engine plane that was carrying 239 people aboard as it travelled from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing more than 24 hours after it slipped off radar screens somewhere between Malaysia's east coast and southern Vietnam, triggering an international search effort.
The 153 Chinese passengers aboard the plane included an infant, while 38 Malaysians and seven Indonesians were aboard.
Six Australians, five Indians, four French nationals and three Americans, including an infant, were also among those listed and the Dutch Foreign Ministry said one Dutch passenger was on the plane.
"The entire Freescale Semiconductor community is deeply saddened by this news. The company is continuing to monitor the situation and will provide more information as it becomes available," the Austin, Texas-based firm said.
Freescale said it was making counselors and other professionals available to employees as part of "around-the-clock support for those impacted by this tragedy."
The company's products serve the automotive, consumer, industrial and networking markets.
They include microprocessors, microcontrollers and sensors, as well as analog integrated circuits and connectivity.
Freescale has design, research and development, manufacturing and sales operations around the world.
Among the Freescale Semiconductor employees aboard Flight MH370 were 12 people from Malaysia and another eight from China, president and CEO Gregg Lowe said.
"At present, we are solely focused on our employees and their families," he added in a statement. "Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected by this tragic event."
Rescuers were still hunting for the whereabouts of the twin-engine plane that was carrying 239 people aboard as it travelled from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing more than 24 hours after it slipped off radar screens somewhere between Malaysia's east coast and southern Vietnam, triggering an international search effort.
The 153 Chinese passengers aboard the plane included an infant, while 38 Malaysians and seven Indonesians were aboard.
Six Australians, five Indians, four French nationals and three Americans, including an infant, were also among those listed and the Dutch Foreign Ministry said one Dutch passenger was on the plane.
"The entire Freescale Semiconductor community is deeply saddened by this news. The company is continuing to monitor the situation and will provide more information as it becomes available," the Austin, Texas-based firm said.
Freescale said it was making counselors and other professionals available to employees as part of "around-the-clock support for those impacted by this tragedy."
The company's products serve the automotive, consumer, industrial and networking markets.
They include microprocessors, microcontrollers and sensors, as well as analog integrated circuits and connectivity.
Freescale has design, research and development, manufacturing and sales operations around the world.
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