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All 295 on Malaysian airliner dead: Ukrainian official

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(Updated)

Nearly 300 lives have been lost – one of them Canadian – after a Malaysia Airlines plane crashed in Ukraine. Also, U.S. intelligence officials now say they believe that flight was shot down.

The video released earlier shows the crash and the wreckage. The situation on the ground is being described as ‘horrifying’.

Ukraine’s President is calling this an “act of terrorism” and says there will be an investigation. So far no one has claimed responsibility and although the U.S. now confirms the plane was shot down. It’s still unclear who fired.

This video allegedly shows the moment of the crash. You can see the plane engulfed in flames followed by plumes of black smoke. Witnesses say the plane appeared to have broken up before impact. And that bodies are scattered around the wreckage where it went down near the Ukrainian Russian border. An official with Ukraine’s interior ministry said all 295 people on board were killed. And that the airliner was shot down while flying at an altitude of 10-thousand metres.

MH-17 crashed in the village of Grabovo which is currently under the control of armed pro-Russian separatists. Each side of the conflict is blaming the other for the downing. Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko says Ukraine did not shoot down the plane. And Ukraine’s security services say they have produced two intercepted telephone conversations that they claim shows rebels are responsible for shooting down the plane. While Russian President Vladimir Putin says Ukraine bears responsibility for the crash saying “This tragedy would not have happened if there were peace on this land, if the military actions had not been renewed in southeast Ukraine. And, certainly, the state over whose territory this occurred bears responsibility for this awful tragedy.”

Here’s a look at the flight path of Malaysia Airlines flight 17. The flight originated from Schiphol Airport in Netherlands and was heading to Kuala Lumpur. But we now know, it didn’t make it. The plane was flying over Ukraine when it went down about 30 kilometers from the Russian/Ukraine border and a little less than 80 kilometers from Donetsk, where pro-Russian separatists have been clashing with Ukraine’s military.

Malaysia’s Prime Minister called this a tragic day and said if the plane was brought down deliberately, the perpetrators must be brought to justice. While U.S. President Barack Obama said his country is willing to assist in the investigation.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak: “I received a call from President Obama. He and I both agreed that the investigation must not be hindered in any way. The flight’s passengers and crew came from many different countries. But today, regardless of nationality, we are all united in grief.”

U.S. President Obama: “Obviously, the world is watching reports of the downed passenger jet near the Russia-Ukraine border. It looks like it may be a terrible tragedy. Right now, we’re working to determine whether there were American citizens on board. That is our first priority. And I’ve directed my National Security Team to stay in close contact with the Ukrainian government. The United States will offer any assistance we can to help determine what happened and why. And as a country, our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the passengers, wherever they call home.”

This afternoon, Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs John Baird tweeted: “Horrified by reports of a Malaysian Airlines plane crashing near the Ukraine-Russia border. We are following the situation very closely.”

The majority of the passengers on the flight were Dutch. There were several Australians. And as mentioned at least one Canadian was on board.

This crash is the second tragedy and major investigation involving Malaysia Airlines this year.

As officials try to locate the black box hoping to find out more about what happened today, Malaysia Airlines is once again having to deliver the worst news to hundreds of families. The airline is still searching for flight 370 which vanished March eighth. That plane was carrying 239 people and was a similar Boeing model to the one that crashed today.