PICTURES

Malaysia's major dailies mourn loss of MH370

The front pages of several of Malaysia's major newspapers were in black and white on Tuesday, in memory of the lost MH370 flight that has been confirmed to have ended its journey in the Indian Ocean.

The usual bright colours of the mastheads were replaced with a black and white version.

The New Straits Times carried a condolence message on its front page: "The New Straits Times expresses its condolences to the next of kin of the 239 passengers and crew members of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370. Al-Fatihah".

Al-Fatihah is a Muslim prayer used in times of bereavement.

Beneath the condolence message was a photo of the Boeing 777-200ER - the model that went missing on March 8 - with the words "Goodnight, MH370". This sign-off refers to the last words heard from the cockpit of MH370 that night: "All right, good night" by co-pilot Fariq Ab Hamid, 27.

Late Monday night, Prime Minister Najib Razak appeared on television to announce that the missing jetliner had "ended" its journey in the southern Indian Ocean.

Datuk Seri Najib cited new and unprecedented analysis of satellite data for the conclusion, which triggered an outpouring of grief among the families of the 239 passenger and crew on board, as well as countless others around the world.

Some news presenters over television on Monday night changed to somber black outfits for the late-night announcement.

The Star, which changed its masthead on Tuesday for the print and online versions, carried all the names of the 239 passengers and crew on a wraparound front page. The names were used to shape the letters and numbers in MH370.

The paper also carried a poignant verse: "No farewell words were spoken, no time to say goodbye, you were gone before we knew it, and only God knows why. - Anonymous"

Inside, it carried photographs of many of the passengers and crew, and a short biodata of most of them.

The Berita Harian also went black-and-white with a condolence message on its front page, and a photograph of a grieving relative.

The Malaysia Airlines website carried a condolence message on its homepage: "Our deepest condolences to the families and friends of those involved in the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 incident".

carolynh@sph.com.sg

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