MALAYSIAN AIRLINES SHOT DOWN, CRASHED OVER UKRAINE

Dozens of bodies were scattered around the smouldering wreckage of a Malaysian Airlines passenger that crashed in eastern Ukraine on Thursday. Photo: RT

Donetsk, Ukraine, 20 Ramadan 1435/18 July 2014 (MINA) – A Malaysian plane en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur disappeared on Thursday from radar at 10,000 meters and then crashed near the city of Shakhtarsk in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, a source in the Ukrainian law enforcement authorities said.

While another source said the plane was shot down over eastern Ukraine by militants, killing all 295 people aboard, a Ukrainian interior ministry official was quoted as saying by Interfax-Ukraine news agency as cited by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA).

Anton Gerashchenko said 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, adding that it was hit by a ground-to-air missile.

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There was no further confirmation of the report, although Ukrainian officials said local residents had found wreckage, English Arabiya reported.

Malaysia Airlines earlier said it had “lost contact” with MH-17 whose last known position was over Ukraine.

“Malaysia Airlines has lost contact of MH17 from Amsterdam,” the airline, still reeling from the disappearance of flight MH370, said on its Twitter account.

“The last known position was over Ukrainian airspace,” it said, adding that it would provide more details soon.

Interfax-Ukraine quoted another Ukrainian official as saying the plane disappeared from radar when it was flying at 10,000 meters (33,000 feet), a typical cruising altitude for airliners.

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It came down at Torez, near Shakhtersk, some 40 km (25 miles) from the Russia border. The area has been the scene of fighting between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian rebels.

Dozens of bodies were scattered around the smouldering wreckage of a passenger jet that crashed in eastern Ukraine on Thursday, a Reuters reporter said.

An emergency services rescue worker said at least 100 bodies had so far been found at the scene, near the village of Grabovo, and that debris from the wreckage was scattered across an area up to about 15 km (nine miles) in diameter.

Broken pieces of the wings were marked with blue and red paint – the same colours as the emblem of the Malaysian airline which lost track of a flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur that was carrying almost 300 people.

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Ukraine has accused Russia of taking an active role in the four-month-old conflict in recent days.(T/P03/P04)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)