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05/16/2024 12:30:36 pm

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Who Shot Malaysian Airliner MH17 Down? Rebels, Army Deny Involvement

Crash Site

(Photo : Reuters) Armed pro-Russia separatist stands at the main crash site of Boeing 777 flight MH17 in eastern Ukraine.

Ukrainian army and Pro-Russian separatists fighting in Ukraine have both denied responsibility for the shooting of a Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 with 295 people onboard all reported killed on Thursday.

Photos of the wreckage of Boeing 777-flight MH17 have started to surface, which reportedly crashed in the town of Grabovo in Donetsk region, a stronghold of pro-Russian rebels.

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Anton Gerashenko, an adviser to Ukraine's interior minister, posted on his Facebook page that a missile fired from a Buk launcher possibly from the rebels hit the plane.

However, the separatists fighting for a referendum of the Eastern Ukraine for Russia said they have no capability to shoot down a commercial plane, which was en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.

Separatist leader Andrei Purgin said even they had Buk missile launchers, and the rebels have no fighters capable of operating it, Associated Press reported.

The incident, which Ukraine Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk described as a "catastrophe", came days after the pro-Russian rebels said they had brought down an Antonov An-26, a transport plane used by Ukraine's forces in the same area.

Reuters detailed that hundreds of body, some severely mutilated, were discovered in a Grabovo village about 50 kilometers from the border of Ukraine and Russia. The relationship of the two countries has been strained following the ouster of Ukraine's pro-Russian president, and the referendum of Crimea.

But the number of deaths could go higher than 300, with at least 23 bodies of U.S. citizen found on the site, Gerashenko said, quoted by Interfax news agency.

"I am shocked by reports that an MH plane crashed. We are launching an immediate investigation," Malaysian Prime Minister Mohd Najib Tun Razak said on Twitter.

Boeing Airplanes, which confirmed about the incident, have expressed their prayers to the families of the victims of the plane, saying they are ready to provide assistance.

The incident has also prompted some airlines to avoid the airspace of Eastern Ukraine, including the Air France and Lufthansa Airlines, rerouting their flights around Ukraine to ensure the safety of the passengers.

Malaysia Airlines confirmed it had lost contact with flight MH17 at 1415 (GMT) at 30km from Tamak waypoint. It said the plane departed from Amsterdam at 12:15 p.m. (Amsterdam local time) and is expected to arrive at Kuala Lumpur at 6:10 am (Malaysia local time) the other day.

MH17 has 280 passengers and its 15 crew on board.

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