U.S. officials have confirmed to
several media outlets that the Malaysia Airlines passenger plane that
crashed near the Ukraine-Russia border Thursday was shot down by a
surface-to-air missile.
The origin of the missile remained unclear and both government officials and pro-Russia separatists fighting in the region denied responsibility.
The number of fatalities in the crash was not immediately clear.
There were 295 people on board, 280 passengers and 15 crew members. Ukrainian authorities told U.S. Embassy officials that everyone on the plane was "believed dead" and that the aircraft debris was scatted over a 10-mile swath of land, ABC News reported.
Malaysia Airlines released a partial list, published by the Washington Post, of the nationalities for 233 of the plane's 280 passengers: 154 Dutch, 27 Australian, 23 Malaysian, 11 Indonesian, 6 British, 4 German, 4 Belgian, 3 Filipino and one Canadian. The airline said it did not yet know the nationalities of the remaining passengers yet.
Every member of the 15-person crew was Malaysian, the airline said.
An aide to Ukraine's interior minister quoted by Interfax said the total number of dead in the crash was more than 300 and included 23 U.S. citizens.
Note: the number of Dutch casualties has now risen to 194
Read more: Malaysia Airlines plane carrying 295 people shot down in missile strike near Ukraine-Russia border: U.S. official - Yahoo News
The origin of the missile remained unclear and both government officials and pro-Russia separatists fighting in the region denied responsibility.
The number of fatalities in the crash was not immediately clear.
There were 295 people on board, 280 passengers and 15 crew members. Ukrainian authorities told U.S. Embassy officials that everyone on the plane was "believed dead" and that the aircraft debris was scatted over a 10-mile swath of land, ABC News reported.
Malaysia Airlines released a partial list, published by the Washington Post, of the nationalities for 233 of the plane's 280 passengers: 154 Dutch, 27 Australian, 23 Malaysian, 11 Indonesian, 6 British, 4 German, 4 Belgian, 3 Filipino and one Canadian. The airline said it did not yet know the nationalities of the remaining passengers yet.
Every member of the 15-person crew was Malaysian, the airline said.
An aide to Ukraine's interior minister quoted by Interfax said the total number of dead in the crash was more than 300 and included 23 U.S. citizens.
Note: the number of Dutch casualties has now risen to 194
Read more: Malaysia Airlines plane carrying 295 people shot down in missile strike near Ukraine-Russia border: U.S. official - Yahoo News
