Malaysian airliner downed in Ukraine war zone, 298 dead
Moscow : Pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine have agreed to provide assistance in an investigation into the downing of a Malaysian passenger airliner and will ensure safe access for international experts visiting the site, the OSCE said on Friday.
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), a security and rights body, said in a statement that a “contact group” of senior representatives from Ukraine, Russia and the OSCE had held a video conference with the separatists, who pledged to cooperate with Ukrainian authorities in the investigation.
Kiev had complained that the separatists prevented Ukrainian officials from reaching the site of the crash, in which all 298 people on board were killed. The separatists were later quoted as saying they had found one of the black box flight recorders. The airline said it was carrying 283 passengers and 15 crew.
The United States believes a surface-to-air missile brought down a Malaysian airliner that crashed in eastern Ukraine on Thursday, killing all 298 people on board, an incident that sharply raises the stakes in a conflict between Kiev and pro-Moscow rebels.
One U.S. official said Washington strongly suspected the missile that downed the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 on a flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was fired by Ukrainian separatists backed by Moscow.
The loss of MH-17 is the second disaster for Malaysia Airlines this year, following the mysterious loss of flight MH-370 in March, which disappeared with 239 passengers and crew on board on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for a transparent international investigation of the incident.
The Netherlands declared a day of national mourning for its 154 dead. Twenty-eight passengers were Malaysian, 27 Australian, 11 Indonesian, six British, four German, four Belgian, three Filipino and one Canadian. All 15 crew were Malaysian. Nationalities of the others aboard were unclear.
International air lanes had been open in the area, although only above 32,000 ft (9,750 metres). The Malaysia plane was flying 1,000 ft higher, officials said. – Reuters
