[PHOTOS] MH17 DAY 1: Gripping Scenes From The First 24 Hours
"This is a tragic day, in what has already been a tragic year, for Malaysia," Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak.
By Mei Mei Chu — 18 Jul 2014, 06:27 PM — Updated over 10 years ago
The news of MH17 crashing near the Ukrainian-Russian border first broke on social media at about 10.30pm on Thursday, 17 July 2014
Malaysia Airlines shot down on Ukraine-Russia border. In this Press Association graphic the earlier figure of 295 was given before the airline revised the figure to 298.
Image via news.com.auThe plane was believed to have been mistakenly shot down by pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine using a surface-to-air missile
The aircraft fell from more than 30,000 feet
Two people comfort each other after finding out that their relatives were on board Malaysia Airlines flight MH17.
Image via mshcdn.comUS Vice President Joe Biden says it was “not an accident” and “blown out of the sky"
An Emergencies Ministry member works at putting out a fire at the site of a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 plane crash in the settlement of Grabovo in the Donetsk region, July 17, 2014.
Image via wordpress.comSelf-proclaimed Prime Minister of the pro-Russian separatist "Donetsk People's Republic" Alexander Borodai visited the crash cite
Self-proclaimed Prime Minister of the pro-Russian separatist "Donetsk People's Republic" Alexander Borodai (C) stands as he arrives on the site of the crash.
Image via mshcdn.comResidents spoke of bodies falling from the sky, looking like rags or clumps of ash before the planes fell onto a large wheat field
The debris of a jet engine from Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 is seen near the settlement of Grabovo in the Donetsk.
Image via mshcdn.comBelongings of the passengers were scattered through the grass: books, toiletries, passports, luggage...
At the crash site, bodies were strewn about in the wreck of the Boeing 777
People walk amongst the debris at the crash site of a passenger plane near the village of Grabovo
Image via wordpress.comMany of the victims were still wearing their seat belts, attached to pieces of the plane
The wreckage of the Malaysian airliner carrying 295 people from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur after it crashed on July 17, 2014 near the town of Shaktarsk, in rebel-held east Ukraine.
Image via wordpress.comMalaysia Airlines first reported that 280 people were onboard MH17, but later increased the count to 298 people, including 15 crew
Majority of the passengers onboard MH17 were from the Netherlands
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte gives a short statement to the press at Schiphol Airport near Amsterdam on July 17, 2014 regarding the Malaysia Airlines plane traveling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur that crashed in the Ukraine.
Image via mshcdn.comHours after the news broke, the people of Kiev held a vigil for the victims of MH17 near the Dutch embassy
A woman holds a placard reading "Putin is a killer!" near candles and flowers placed in front of the Embassy of the Netherlands in Kiev.
Image via mshcdn.comGrieving relatives of those onboard Malaysia Airlines gathered at KLIA demanding for news about their family members
Relatives of people onboard Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 from Amsterdam cry outside the family holding area at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang on July 18, 2014.
Image via mshcdn.comPilots around the world were advised to avoid Ukrainian airspace and the area where MH17 was shot down
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak says no stones will be left unturned in the investigation
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak (C) pauses before he leaves the press conference after delivering a statement regarding the ill fated flight MH17 on July 18, 2014 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Image via mshcdn.com