At the Everly Putrajaya hotel here, the family of aviation engineer Mohd Khairul Amri Selamat could not control their emotions, bursting into tears as they watched the Prime Minister give his statement at the lobby.
Mohd Khairul Amri's father Selamat Omar, who would generally speak to press almost immediately after previous press conferences, told journalists he needed a moment by himself.
Zamani Zakaria, father to passenger Ahmad Razahan Zamani, 23, said his family would accept the loss as it was Allah's will.
"The search for them is now over. At least we don't have to be waiting around any more as it was torture," he said when contacted by reporters.
Ahmad Razahan was on board the ill-fated flight with his newly-married wife, Norli Akmar Hamid, 33, for their honeymoon in Beijing.
The other family of a Malaysian passenger, who were still staying at the hotel, were nowhere to be seen, presumably in their rooms.
In BANGI next-of-kin of MH370 passengers from China who had travelled from Beijing to Kuala Lumpur since March 11, found the news too much to bear.
A grief-stricken middle-aged lady could be seen crying at the main lobby of the hotel.
"I don't believe this! I want my son back," she wailed in a thick accent.
The lady was later aided by two relatives into an elevator which led to the hotel rooms.
Security at the hotel was tight, and security guards had shut all doors at the hotel entrance.
MAS officials were also seen to be scrambling for boxes of tissues from the hotel reception desk.
A text message purportedly sent by MAS to families and relatives ahead of Najib's announcement did not seem to reach the Chinese next-of-kin in Kuala Lumpur, as they were still seen moving about calmly at the lobby before Najib's announcement.
The message, which was widely shared on social media platforms, had read: "Malaysia Airlines deeply regrets that we have to assume beyond any reasonable doubt that MH370 has been lost and that none of those onboard survived.
"As you will hear from Malaysia's Prime Minister in the next hour, we must now accept all evidence suggests the plane went down in the Southern Indian Ocean".
Over in BEIJING, wails of grieving relatives of passengers could be heard by reporters even before they entered the ballroom of the Metropark Lido hotel, where they were watching Najib's announcement.
Hysterical crying and smashing of chairs could also be heard after relatives of Chinese passengers on board the missing MH370 flight heard the grave news that there was little chance of survival of their loved ones.
When the doors open, devastated family members of the Chinese passengers on board MH370 hurried out.
A few relatives were weak-kneed, and had to be supported by others as they tried to evade the multitude of cameras.
"You still want to take our photos? We have lost our loved ones!" yelled a family member.
Another elderly woman lost control of her emotions; she cried, "My son! My daughter-in-law! My grandchild! My three generations!"
Security guards had to ask media to leave the room at the hotel.
Three medical teams were reportedly sent in, and first-aid officers were seen wheeling stretchers into the room.
Earlier, at around 9pm, MAS had sent text messages to relatives informing them in advance of Najib's announcement.
*Article first appeared on http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2014/03/24/MH370-families-wail-naj...
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