Malaysia airliner crashes in east Ukraine near Russia border 295 onboard

HiTecK

Administrator
Staff member
A Malaysian airliner with 295 people on board has crashed in Ukraine on a flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, amid allegations it was shot down.

Dozens of bodies are scattered around what is believed to be the wreckage of the jet near the village of Grabovo, a Reuters correspondent reports.

Both the Ukrainian government and rebels have denied shooting it down in the region close to the Russian border.

Flight MH17 had been due to enter Russian airspace when contact was lost.

[video=youtube;qdPnzdCRpoM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdPnzdCRpoM[/video]

Pro-Russian separatist rebels have been fighting government forces in the region.

line
Analysis: Jonathan Beale, BBC News
A defence expert has told the BBC that shooting down a plane at 10,000m (9.7 miles) would have required a long- range surface-to-air missile - possibly guided by radar.

That suggests it is unlikely it could have been downed by a portable air defence missile, or Manpad, which has a much shorter range.

The only other possibility is for an aircraft at that height to be downed by a fighter carrying air-to-air missiles.

The US will have access to satellite imagery that should be able to identify ultra-violet plumes if a long-range surface-to-air missile was fired.

line
A number of Ukrainian military planes have been shot down by missiles in recent weeks. Ukraine has accused Russia's military of supplying advanced missiles to the rebels.

Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak reportedly said he was launching an immediate inquiry into the crash.

Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to his US counterpart, Barack Obama, by phone about the crash, the Kremlin said in a statement (in Russian).

"The Russian leader informed the US president about an air-traffic controllers' report that came just before their phone conversation that a Malaysian plane crashed in Ukraine," the statement said.

'Third downing'
The plane fell between Krasni Luch in Luhansk region and Shakhtarsk in the neighbouring region of Donetsk.

More here.
 
Barry and Izzy Sim switched to a KLM flight after they were told their was not room for them on flight MH17

A British couple and their baby escaped death on doomed flight MH17 after being told there was a lack of seats.

Barry Sim and his wife Izzy switched to a KLM flight after they were told their was not room for them on the Malaysia Airways plane which was apparently shot down last night on the border of Russia and Ukraine.

Those on board included nine British citizens, 154 Dutch passengers, 27 Australians, 23 Malaysians, 11 Indonesians, four from Germany, four from Belgium, three from the Philippines, and one from Canada.

The rest of the passengers have yet to be identified. All 15 crew members were Malaysian.

Mrs Sim told Reuters: "There must have been someone watching over us and saying 'You must not get on that flight'.

"We are very loyal to Malaysia Airlines and we always want to fly with Malaysia Airlines."

She added that her husband, from Scotland, usually disliked flying with KLM.

"But, do you know what? At this moment we are so glad to be on that KLM flight rather than that Malaysia Airlines flight," she said.

The passenger jet was on route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it crashed near the village of Grabovo in eastern Ukraine.

Ukrainian officials say they believe all 280 passengers and 15 crew members died in the crash, which has been blamed on separatist rebels.

However, no group has yet admitted responsibility for bringing the plane down.

Mr Sim added: "In my mind lightning never strikes twice in the same place so I am still philosophical that you get on the flight and you go about your life. I know my wife doesn't feel like that. Probably the last thing she wants to do now is fly, especially to Kuala Lumpur."

Mr Sim said he was “philosophical” about continuing to “go about your life”, saying that he believed the couple should take the KLM flight, despite his wife’s misgivings about the danger of another crash.
 

Attachments

  • Malaysia-Airlines-plane-crashes-in-Ukraine-graphic.jpg
    Malaysia-Airlines-plane-crashes-in-Ukraine-graphic.jpg
    57.2 KB · Views: 29
Back
Top