298 dead after Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 crashes in Ukraine

Flight MH17 was travelling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on Thursday afternoon when it came down close to the Russian border. It had been due to enter Russian airspace but lost contact shortly beforehand.

The United States said the Boeing 777 was "blown out of the sky", probably by a ground-launched missile.

Both pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine's restive east and the Kyiv government have accused each other of shooting down the plane.

The 298 passengers and crew

3 of the passengers were infants
154 were Dutch
27 were Australian
45 were Malaysian
12 were Indonesian
9 were British
4 were German, 4 Belgian, 3 Filipino and 1 Canadian
All 15 crew were Malaysian

Most of the passengers were Dutch, but there were also 45 Malaysians, 27 Australians, 12 Indonesians, nine Britons, four Germans, four Belgians, three Filipinos, and one Canadian on board. Some of the passengers were heading to a major international AIDS conference in Melbourne.

The Malaysian Prime Minister, who is dealing with his country's second plane crash this year, promised that "no stone would be left unturned" and that anyone responsible would be brought to justice "swiftly."

All that was left of the plane was charred wreckage. Local residents reported seeing parts of bodies strewn in nearby fields.

The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting about Ukraine on Friday and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged a full international investigation.

Source: Euronews

Photo source: The Straits Times