All 295 people aboard Malaysian airliner killed

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
(Based on international news agency reports)

July 18:

A Malaysian airliner carrying 295 people has crashed in east Ukraine on a flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, amid allegations it was shot down, according to a BBC report.

The report says, ” There are no signs of survivors at the scene of the crash near the village of Grabovo, which is under the control of separatist rebels.Flight MH17 had been due to enter Russian airspace when contact was lost.”

Ukraine’s president called the loss of the plane an “act of terrorism” as the rebels denied shooting it down, the report said.

Separatists are believed to have shot down two Ukrainian military planes over the region in recent days, it added.

Leading international news agency Reuters, which published pictures of the site of the plane crash, quoting a Ukrainian interior ministry official said, a Malaysian airliner was shot down over eastern Ukraine by militants on Thursday, killing all 295 people aboard.

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.

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.