Ukraine says Malaysian airliner shot down, 295 dead: agency

[TulsaGeoff]

(Reuters) - A Malaysian airliner was shot down over eastern Ukraine by militants on Thursday, killing all 295 people aboard, a Ukrainian interior ministry official was quoted as saying by Interfax-Ukraine news agency.

 

The aircraft, which other sources said was a Boeing 777 flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, came down near the city of Donetsk, stronghold of pro-Russian rebels, Anton Gerashchenko said, adding that it was hit by a ground-to-air missile.

 

There was no further confirmation of the report, although Ukrainian officials said local residents had found wreckage.

 

Malaysia Airlines said on its Twitter feed it had lost contact with its flight MH-17 from Amsterdam. "The last known position was over Ukrainian airspace," it said.

 

Gerashchenko was quoted as saying: "A civilian airliner travelling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur has just been shot down by a Buk anti-aircraft system ... 280 passengers and 15 crew have been killed."

 

Interfax-Ukraine quoted another Ukrainian official as saying the plane disappeared from radar when it was flying at 10,000 metres (33,000 feet), a typical cruising altitude for airliners.

 

It came down at Torez, near Shakhtersk, some 40 km (25 miles) from the Russia border. The area has been the scene of fighting between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian rebels.

 

Ukraine has accused Russia of taking an active role in the four-month-old conflict in recent days and accused it earlier on Thursday of shooting down a Ukrainian fighter jet - an accusation that Moscow denied.

 

(Reporting by Richard Balmforth and Alastair Macdonald; Editing by Peter Millership)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/17/us-ukraine-crash-airplane-idUSKBN0FM1TU20140717

 

Live updates here: http://live.reuters.com/Event/World_News

[DFighter]

yeah atleast dozens of Dutch were in it hope NATO finish that terrorist state there.

edit: 

Just got informed that a good friend was on this plane 

Edited July 17, 2014 by DFighter

[SiD]

Malaysia Airlines... twice in less than 6 months. Yep. Gonna stay away from that one.

[Ultra...?!]

295 people

[Owned]

60 dutch people was the most recent estimate, we have our summor holiday at the moment which explains why there were quite a few aboard.

A dutch person posted an image on facebook of the plane, stating: if it goes missing, this is what it looks like.

that one touched down hard on me... could have been my brother, he is on a holiday in ukraine at the moment

*edit*

My brother just sent my mom a message about shooting near a metro station he was at, his ukrainian friend checked what was going on and said there was a lot of blood, a civil war is going on over there.

[TulsaGeoff]

BREAKING: Number of dead from crash of #MH17 more than 300, includes 23 U.S. citizen: Interior Ministry adviser, quoted by Interfax

by cassandra.garrison 12:32 PM

Comment ↑0

[excedo]

I don't even understand why they decide to fly over a warzone... May the fallen rest in peace.

[=Plat00n=]

yeah atleast dozens of Dutch were in it hope NATO finish that terrorist state there.

 

edit: 

 

Just got informed that a good friend was on this plane 

 

 

Sorry about the bad news about your friend. Just seen a couple of passports and both where dutch a 13 year old girl and a 17 year old boys          

Edited July 17, 2014 by =Plat00n=

[Ultra...?!]

Shot down by a set of:

[Flag]

I don't even understand why they decide to fly over a warzone... May the fallen rest in peace.

 

 

Yea me too :/

[Jhonny/Shinobi]

Aids-researchers (including Dr. Joep Lange), who were heading to the 20th International AIDS Conference, were on that plane as well   :http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-07-18/flight-17-crash-casts-shadow-over-melbourne-aids-meeting.html

[ValmirTheGamer]

I don't even know why this has to happen, all this could have been avoided very easily... There is enough crazy shit happening in my own country i tend to not pay attention to other country's stuff.. but sometimes you have too... This just... words can't explain it...

 

Just got informed that a good friend was on this plane 

I am so sorry for him, you, and everyone in his family.. May he Rest In Peace.

[ReaperROS]

It happened because terrorists control eastern Ukraine. Its funny how the separatists first claimed to have shot down another AN29 cargo plane yesterday and then delete their claim when it turns out to be a passenger plane. The separatists have no aircraft so for Ukraine to have Anti-Air Assets even in the area is pretty strange, unless to protect the area from Russian Air Force incursions, of which there have been none. We do know that an SU-25 of the Ukrainian Air Force, multiple helicopters, and an AN29 cargo plane have all been shot down by the separatists. We also know that the Grad attack on Ukrainian forces a few weeks ago was conducted using Russia's latest model of the Grad Multi-Launch Rocket System, something neither Ukraine nor the Separatists possess. Ukraine sits astride one of the busiest air routes in Europe with 100's of aircraft taking the same route every day, so for Ukraine to have shot down a civilian Aircraft which it's own Air Traffic Control was tracking would be strange. Considering that Russia is feeding the separatists weapons, and equipment, especially with the recent Grad incident, I suspect the aircraft was mistaken by Russian Border forces as a Ukrainian attack aircraft, or the Russians have supplied the separatists with a Buk Medium Range Anti-Air system.

[MeesterlijkNL]

Well the point is u can fly where ever u want in the first place, Only because Poetin must have Ukraine all of a sudden, If Poetin was just a normal person this and other lives were spared.

[ReaperROS]

Putin's goal has been to unite all the Russian People, even in lands that are not Russian, much like Hitler did in '39.