On Thursday, July 17, a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 with nearly 300 people on board went down near the town of Torez in eastern Ukraine. According to recent reports, the plane was brought down by a surface-to-air missile, possibly by rebels in the area.
A U.S. official who declined to be identified according to CNN, said the missile was likely fired by pro-Russian separatists inside eastern Ukraine. Earlier this month, the airspace in the area was closed due to security concerns; rebels had shot down a Ukrainian military aircraft.
The airline was on its way from Amsterdam to Malaysia with 298 people on board, including 15 crew members and three infants. Some sources have released a partial list of passenger nationalities; one Canadian was on board.
Pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine are offering a truce to allow authorities to investigate the crash site of a Malaysia Airlines jet according to The Washington Post. The National Transportation Safety Board plans on sending at least one investigator to Ukraine to help investigate the accident. The Federal Bureau of Investigations is also sending explosives experts to help with the investigation.
According to the Malaysian Prime Minister, the plane did not make a distress call before it was brought down.
This a developing story and many details are still coming to light; the investigations will likely to continue for several weeks.
The tragic events come only a few months after Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 disappeared while traveling to Beijing. The aircraft was carrying 239 people on board and its disappearance remains a mystery.
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