Malaysian jet ‘shot down’ over Ukraine, all 295 on board dead

BLAME GAME Kiev blames pro-p Russia militants, rebels say Ukraine forces behind it

GRABOVO, UKRAINE: A Malaysia Airlines passenger plane crashed in eastern Ukraine on Thursday after reportedly being shot down, killing allll 295 on board.

Ukrainian interior ministry official Anton Gerashchenko blamed the downing of thehe Amsterdam-to-Kuala Lumpur flight on pro-Russia militants, posting on Facebook that it was “shot down with a Buk anti-aircraft system”. A ministry aide put the total number of dead at more than 300, including 23 US citizens.

However, the rebels claimed Ukrainian forces had brought down the plane. “Witnesses watching the flight of the Boeing 777 saw it being attacked by a battle plane of the Ukrainian forces. After that, the plane split in two in the air and fell on the territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic,” said the government of the selfproclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic in a statement. Ukraine denied its military was involved.

Malaysia Airlines said on its Twitter feed that it had lost contact with flight MH17, adding that “the last known position was over Ukrainian air space”. It said there were 280 passengers and 15 crew on board.

The incident comes just months after its flight MH370 disappeared without a trace on March 8 with 239 on board.

A Reuters correspondent saw bur ning wreckage and bodies on the ground in the village of Grabovo, 40km from the Russian border in an area where pro-Russian rebels are active and have claimed to have shot down other aircraft. Local emergency workers said at least 100 bodies had been found, and wreckage was scattered across several kilometers. “I was working in the fields when I heard the sound of a plane and then a bang and shots. I saw the plane hit the ground and break in two. There was thick black smoke,” a witness, who gave his name only as Vladimir, told Reuters.

The incident prompted the civil aviation ministry in India to instruct Air India to avoid Ukrainian airspace, TV reports said. Turkish Airlines, Ger many’s Lufthansa and Russia’s national carrier Aeroflot also announced that their planes would steer clear of the region. Many flights from South Asia and South-East Asia to and from Europe take this flight route.

US President Barack Obama and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin discussed the crash during a pre-planned call about the situation in Ukraine and new economic sanctions Washington and its EU partners have imposed on Moscow.