Malaysian passenger airliner MH17 has crashed in eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board. According to the Ukrainian government, the flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lampur, was shot by an anti-aircraft missile. Russia has denied any involvement and has urged a full investigation into the incident. Ukraine’s President vowed that its forces had not shot down the civilian aircraft, meanwhile the country’s Prime Minister called the incident a “terrorist attack.” Despite blaming separatist rebels in the country, the rebels have denied all involvement in the shooting down of the aircraft. The passenger flight was carrying at least 154 Dutch nationals, 43 Malaysians (including 15 crew members), 27 Australians, 12 Indonesians and nine Britons. Other passengers also came from Belgium, Canada, Germany and the Philippines, with the nationalities of 41 people remaining unconfirmed. According to Australian officials, at least 100 of those on board the flight were heading for an international conference on HIV/AIDS in Melbourne, Australia. Malaysia’s Prime Minister urged a swift investigation and added that the plane had not made any distress calls before crashing. The plane crashed 50km (20 miles) away from entering Russian Airspace, reported Interfax. Russian…
Malaysian Airlines flight carrying 298 people ‘shot down’ in Ukraine
July 17, 2014
