Somber Disbelief in Beijing Hotel After Latest News in Malaysian Jet Search

At the Beijing hotel that Malaysia Airlines has used as a help center, relatives of Flight 370 passengers gathered in a conference room to watch the televised Australian briefing. The mood shifted to somber disbelief at the Australian announcement that satellite images detected objects in the Indian Ocean near one of the areas being searched for the missing plane. People left the room, with heads hanging. Four women cried.

“I don’t believe anything they say,” said Wen Wancheng, whose son was on the flight. “I just don’t believe this news,” said Mr. Wen, who is from the city of Jinan. He said he wants to believe that his son is still alive.

Emergency medics trailed some family members, many of whom looked worn down by the twelfth day of waiting, into the conference room in the Metropark Lido Hotel. After days of vague and conflicting reports about the plane from airline representatives, some family members said they don’t believe the information they are being given.

“I don’t want to hear any more,” said Zhang Zhiliang, who walked out mid-briefing. He said he was frustrated that there’s still no confirmed information. “There’s nothing I want to watch, nothing I want to hear,” said Mr. Zhang. From the nearby city of Tianjin, Mr. Zhang said his 26-year-old cousin on the flight returning to Beijing after having been working in Malaysia.

In response to the news, China’s foreign ministry said its missions in Australia were keeping close contact with Australian authorities and offered assistance to help with the search.