PUTRAJAYA - China's ambassador to Malaysia said the families of Chinese passengers on board the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 need fast and accurate updates on the situation and appealed to the media to leave them alone.

"Updates and information have been chaotic. All kind of speculation and rumours have been flying about. This is bad, which is why we have requested for the Malaysian authorities to disseminate information promptly and accurately," said Dr Huang Huikang. He was speaking to reporters after his meeting with the families at a resort in Cyberjaya on Wednesday.

He added that the Chinese embassy in Malaysia will do its utmost to provide the families with immediate and accurate updates.

"At the same time, I request that the media do not aid in any hearsay so as to help control the chaos...I hope that members of the media leave them alone, so that they can handle this difficult time in a quiet and comfortable environment,'' said Dr Huang.

"They have kept calm and patient. They just want to get accurate information - what happened, what's going on and what is next step."