Malaysian Airlines hit by second tragedy in four months.
Malaysian Airlines has yet again been hit by an aviation disaster, a Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 Flight MH17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, crashed in eastern Ukraine near the Russian border on July 17, 2014.
The flight had 298 passengers onboard which included 154 Dutch nationals, the plane is said to have crashed near the Ukranian city of Donestk – a known strong hold territory of the pro-Russian rebels.
Currently there is no concrete answer as to who shot down the aircraft, Ukrainian officials claim that that pro- Russian militants armed with heavy Soviet era ground-to-air missiles are responsible for the carnage.
Reports say that the possibility of any passenger having survived the crash is quite bleak. The Dutch Prime Minister and US president Barack Obama have expressed their condolences to the victims’ families.
According to the Ukranian officials, the pro-Russian militants shot down the flight with a heavy, Soviet-era ground to air missile. The Ukrainian authorities said that they lost contact with the flight at 2:15 pm GMT and added that it carried 280 passengers and 15 crew members at 12:15 pm. The flight was due to arrive at Kuala Lumpur at 6:10 am on July 18, 2014.
A statement from the White House said that the United States is prepared to contribute any immediate assistance to support a prompt, full and credible and “unimpeded” international investigation.
This aviation disaster comes four months after Malaysian Airlines’ MH 370 mysteriously disappeared on March 8, 2014. With 227 passengers on board, the flight’s mystery disappearance is still to be solved.
Photo Credits: Toronto Sun
