King Mohammed VI of Morocco has sent a message of condolences to Chinese President Xi Jinping after a Malaysia Airlines plane with 154 Chinese on board was confirmed to crash in the southern Indian Ocean.

Mohammed VI expressed heartfelt condolences and sympathy to the Chinese president, the victims' families and the Chinese people following the crash of the jet with over 150 Chinese nationals on board, Morocco's official news agency reported Tuesday.

The king said he shared the sadness of the Chinese president and people in this bereavement, expressing solidarity and sympathy, according to the report.

Flight MH370, a Boeing 777-200ER, went missing on its way to Beijing on March 8, shortly after taking off from Kuala Lumpur. The plane was carrying 12 crew and 227 passengers, including 154 Chinese. The search is now in its third week.

Late on Monday, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said the missing plane "ended" in the southern Indian Ocean, based on new calculations by the British Air Accidents Investigation Branch and Inmarsat, a Britain-based satellite company that provided the satellite data.?