MH17 WITH 295 PASSENGERS SHOT DOWN OVER UKRAINE. NO SURVIVORS
Today again Malaysian awoke to the grim news that another fully laden MAS plane carrying 295 passengers from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, MH17, is missing. It has crashed over Ukraine with no survivors. It would seems for MAS and Najib's government, that even the Gods are conspiring to remind them of the unfinished business of MH370...and have now compounded their anger at the manner in which the aftermath of MH370 was managed with another MAS tragedy - again played out on the global stage - a place we know that Najib and his BN government are most uncomfortable with for it afforded them little protection from anything but the truth.
Our immediate thoughts are for the families of those who have lost love ones in the unfolding tragedy of MH17 but I am sure for Najib and his Ministers there is no sleep after sahur today. I was unable to sleep because of a heavy cold with a racking cough and as I went out of my room for a drink to sooth my throat, my son who was watching the news at 5 A.M. told me of the MH17 crash...and his words "shot down...no survivors".......rang in my ear as I stood in front of our TV taking the news in....and there and then I knew there was no sleep for me until I could get some details of what happened and post the news on my blog....and one hour later I am still at it.
There will be much said by many parties in Malaysia tomorrow morning. The media will have a field day and the politicians to will make what they can of the situation.
I know this is what we should and must do.
In moments of great tragedy such as this when the eyes of the world is again upon us all...we must close rank and stand with our Prime Minister, his Government and with MAS....and let us hope that our Prime Minister, his Government and MAS are up to the task doing what is right for our country, MAS, for all of us and for the passengers who have lost their lives in the crash of MH17.
Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 crash: 'Nine Britons, 23 US citizens and 80 children' feared dead after Boeing passenger jet 'shot down' near Ukraine-Russia border
The airliner was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur
Nine Britons, 23 US citizens and 80 children are reported to be among those killed when a passenger jet crashed over the eastern Ukraine border amid claim and counter-claim that it was shot down.
Pictures and video emerging from the scene show bodies strewn around the site of the crash amid charred and burning wreckage of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 near the town of Grabovo, about 50km from the Russia-Ukraine border.
The Malaysian national carrier said that the British passport holders were travelling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on board the Boeing 777. The aircraft is believed to have had 295 people on board – 280 passengers and 15 crew.
A spokesman from The Foreign and Commonwealth Office said it was working to identify any British victims of the tragedy. “We are aware of the reports and are urgently working to establish what has happened," he said.
The Ukrainian Interior Minister is reported to have said that 23 US citizens and 80 children were also on board, according to various agencies reporting from the scene.
Ukrainian rebels, who are backed by Russia, and the Ukraine government have accused the other of carrying out the ground-to-air strike, with both issuing firm denials of any involvement in the disaster.
A man works at putting out a fire at the site of the plane crashThe Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko rejected claims by Ukraine rebels that Kiev was responsible and said his country's armed forces didn't shoot at any airborne targets.
“We do not exclude that this plane was shot down, and we stress that the Armed Forces of Ukraine did not take action against any airborne targets,” he said. “We are sure that those who are guilty in this tragedy will be held responsible.”
According to the Telegraph, an official statement from the Ukraine government blamed Russian air defence systems it claimed are protecting "terrorists" in the area.
It said: "A large passenger aircraft Boeing 777, performing a flight between Amsterdam and Kuala Lumpur, was shot down in the eastern part of Ukraine. According to the General Staff of Ukrainian Armed Forces, the airplane was shot down by the Russian Buk missile system as the liner was flying at an altitude of 10,000 meters.
"Ukraine has no long-range air defence missile systems in this area.
"The plane was shot down, because the Russian air defence systems was affording protection to Russian mercenaries and terrorists in this area.
"Ukraine will present the evidence of Russian military involvement into the Boeing crash.
"The leader of the terrorists Igor Girkin (Strelkov) immediately commented on the airplane catastrophe, believing that it was the Ukrainian jet that crashed down: 'In Torez An-26 was shot down, its crashes are lying somewhere near the coal mine “Progress”. We have warned everyone: do not fly in our skies.'"
Anton Gerashenko, an aide to the Ukrainian Interior Minister, wrote on his Facebook page that the Boeing airliner, which was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, was at an altitude of 33,000ft when it was hit by a missile fired from a Buk launcher and crashed near the city of Donetsk - a stronghold of pro-Russian rebels.
Earlier, Aleksandr Boroday, Prime Minister of Donetsk People's Republic, denied the jet had been shot down by the rebels, who are backed by Russia, and called the incident a “provocation by the Ukrainian military”.
“We confirm that the plane crashed not far from Donetsk,” Boroday said. “Representatives of Donetsk People's Republic have headed to the scene of the plane search.”
Emergencies Ministry members work at the site of a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 plane crash in the settlement of Grabovo in the Donetsk region“Self-defence forces have no air-defence, which could target transport aircraft at that height,” he told Interfax.
In separate reports by Interfax, an unidentified pro-Russian separatists said they have found the jet's black box flight recorder.
Russia’s military has also said that none of its military planes have been flying close to the Russia-Ukraine border on Thursday, RIA Novosti reported citing a military official.
Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 takes off from Schiphol airport near AmsterdamThe US senator John McCain has warned that there will be “hell to pay” if the Russia military or Ukrainian separatists are deemed to have had any involvement in the 'incident'.
He said: “If the Malaysian plane was shot down, this is obviously a game changer and has horrific consequences."
“It has the earmarks of a tragic mistake made by someone who had the capability to just shoot down an aircraft, and we know at least from the last couple of weeks that that could be Russian or separatist Russian capability.”
"But if it is the result of either separatist or Russian actions mistakenly believing this was a Ukrainian war plane, I think there’s going to be hell to pay and there should be," he said in an interview on MSNBC, citing previous reports of separatists shooting down Ukrainian fighter planes.
The aircraft involved is understood to be a Boeing 777 with flight number MH17, which departed from Amsterdam at 12.14am local time, 15 minutes later than scheduled, according to flight records.
It was expected to arrive in Malaysia at 6:10am local time, but did not enter Russian airspace when it was expected to, a Russian aviation source told Reuters.
The Interfax report said the plane came down 50 km (20 miles) short of entering Russian airspace. It "began to drop, afterwards it was found burning on the ground on Ukrainian territory," the unnamed source said.
The Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk has ordered an investigation into what he has called an "airplane catastrophe", his spokeswoman Olga Lappo said on Thursday.
His comments were followed by a tweet by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, who said he was "shocked" by reports of a plane crash, and that an investigation was being launched into the incident immediately.
This video posted online purported to show the aftermath of the crash
A separate unnamed source in the Ukrainian security apparatus, quoted by Interfax, said the plane disappeared from radar at a height of 10,000 metres after which it came down near the town of Shakhtyorsk.
Malaysia Airlines posted a tweet on its official account confirming it had "lost contact of MH17 from Amsterdam".
"The last known position was over Ukrainian airspace. More details to follow."
Virgin Airlines, Lufthansa and British Airways have confirmed that they are diverting most of their flights away from Ukrianian airspace.
A spokesman from BA said: “The safety and security of our customers is always our top priority. Our flights are not using Ukrainian airspace, with the exception of our once a day service between Heathrow and Kiev.
“We are keeping those services under review, but Kiev is several hundred kilometres from the incident site."
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