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Malaysia Airlines jet 'shot down'
July 18, 2014: Amateur vision has surfaced of the final moments of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17, which crashed in Ukraine this morning.
ninemsn
A Malaysian Airlines plane carrying 295 people, including 27 Australians, has crashed in rebel-held eastern Ukraine, with reports saying the jet was shot down at altitude.
The Boeing 777 was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it disappeared from radar and came down near Torez in the region of Donetsk.
A Dutch aviation official said 27 Australians were on the doomed flight after footage allegedly shot near the site of the downed aircraft showed a man holding passports collected at the scene, including what appeared to be an Australian passport.
July 18, 2014: An Australian passport has apparently been found in the plane wreck of Malaysian Airline MH17 which was allegedly shot down while carrying 295 passengers.
In a statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it has "grave concerns that a number of Australians were on board the flight".
DFAT has established a 24 hour hotline for those who are unable to make contact with family members: 1300 555 135.
The Malaysian Airlines flight appears to have been shot down by a surface-to-air missile called a BUK, a relic from the Soviet era, Britain's Telegraph reports.
People walk amongst the debris at the crash site of a passenger plane near the village of Grabovo, Ukraine, Thursday, July 17, 2014. (AAP)
READ MORE: Australian passport apparently among those found at MH17 crash site
READ MORE: Rebel sites suggest insurgents shot down plane by mistake
READ MORE: Here's the missile that reportedly brought down MH17
People walk amongst the debris at the crash site of a passenger plane near the village of Grabovo, Ukraine, Thursday, July 17, 2014. (AAP)
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko accused pro-Russian insurgents of shooting down the jet and described it as a "terrorist act".
"Poroshenko on the downed plane: this incident is not a catastrophe. It is a terrorist act," Svyatoslav Tsegolko posted on his official Twitter account.
All 280 passengers and 15 crew members on board the plane are believed to have died.
A BUK mark 1 surface to air launcher.
A social media site attributed to a top Ukrainian rebel commander said the insurgents had shot down an army transporter at the location where a Malaysia Airlines plane crashed near the Russian border.
The comments by the top military commander of the self-proclaimed "Donetsk People's Republic" suggest the separatists shot down the Malaysia Airlines plane by mistake, believing it was a large Ukrainian army transport plane.
"We just downed an An-26 near Torez. It is down near the Progress mine," said the VK page attributed to Igor Strelkov, which is frequently quoted by Ukrainian media.
The rebels shot down another An-26 in rebel-held eastern Ukraine on June 14, killing 49 government servicemen.
The website did not identify the weapon used to down the plane, which Ukrainian officials said had been flying at an altitude of about 10,000m.
But a post on the official Twitter account of the "Donetsk People's Republic" -- later removed -- claimed that the separatists earlier Thursday had seized a missile system called Buk from the Ukrainian army capable of downing a jet at that altitude.
The BUK missile is a medium-range surface-to-air missile developed by the Soviet Union which is designed to be flexible and fast to set up and fire.
The battery of missiles can be mounted on a vehicle and ready to fire within five minutes of arriving in a location, making it incredibly mobile and hard to track. The weapons system’s Russian maker, Almaz-Altey, claims the missile can hit targets up to an altitude of 25 kilometres.
Anton Gerashenko, an advisor to Ukraine’s interior minister, said on his Facebook page that a BUK missile struck the plane at an altitude of 10,000m.
This has yet to be officially confirmed.
Poroshenko expressed his "deepest and sincerest sympathies for the families and loved ones of those killed" and vowed that "those behind this tragedy will be brought to justice."
The plane crashed in a region where pro-Russian rebels have been engaging Ukrainian army forces in recent weeks, even reportedly shooting down some Ukrainian air force planes.
Malaysian Airlines confirmed that it had "lost contact" with one its planes in Ukrainian airspace.
Horrifying images have emerged on social media showing dozens of severely mutilated corpses strewn in the plane wreckage.
Debris was spread out for kilometres and the tail of the passenger jet lay in a corn field with the Malaysian Airlines insignia on it. Rebel fighters and several fire trucks were seen nearby the crash site.
July 18, 2014: Amateur vision has surfaced of the final moments of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17, which crashed in Ukraine this morning.
ninemsn
A Malaysian Airlines plane carrying 295 people, including 27 Australians, has crashed in rebel-held eastern Ukraine, with reports saying the jet was shot down at altitude.
The Boeing 777 was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it disappeared from radar and came down near Torez in the region of Donetsk.
A Dutch aviation official said 27 Australians were on the doomed flight after footage allegedly shot near the site of the downed aircraft showed a man holding passports collected at the scene, including what appeared to be an Australian passport.
July 18, 2014: An Australian passport has apparently been found in the plane wreck of Malaysian Airline MH17 which was allegedly shot down while carrying 295 passengers.
In a statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it has "grave concerns that a number of Australians were on board the flight".
DFAT has established a 24 hour hotline for those who are unable to make contact with family members: 1300 555 135.
The Malaysian Airlines flight appears to have been shot down by a surface-to-air missile called a BUK, a relic from the Soviet era, Britain's Telegraph reports.
People walk amongst the debris at the crash site of a passenger plane near the village of Grabovo, Ukraine, Thursday, July 17, 2014. (AAP)
READ MORE: Australian passport apparently among those found at MH17 crash site
READ MORE: Rebel sites suggest insurgents shot down plane by mistake
READ MORE: Here's the missile that reportedly brought down MH17
People walk amongst the debris at the crash site of a passenger plane near the village of Grabovo, Ukraine, Thursday, July 17, 2014. (AAP)
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko accused pro-Russian insurgents of shooting down the jet and described it as a "terrorist act".
"Poroshenko on the downed plane: this incident is not a catastrophe. It is a terrorist act," Svyatoslav Tsegolko posted on his official Twitter account.
All 280 passengers and 15 crew members on board the plane are believed to have died.
A BUK mark 1 surface to air launcher.
A social media site attributed to a top Ukrainian rebel commander said the insurgents had shot down an army transporter at the location where a Malaysia Airlines plane crashed near the Russian border.
The comments by the top military commander of the self-proclaimed "Donetsk People's Republic" suggest the separatists shot down the Malaysia Airlines plane by mistake, believing it was a large Ukrainian army transport plane.
"We just downed an An-26 near Torez. It is down near the Progress mine," said the VK page attributed to Igor Strelkov, which is frequently quoted by Ukrainian media.
The rebels shot down another An-26 in rebel-held eastern Ukraine on June 14, killing 49 government servicemen.
The website did not identify the weapon used to down the plane, which Ukrainian officials said had been flying at an altitude of about 10,000m.
But a post on the official Twitter account of the "Donetsk People's Republic" -- later removed -- claimed that the separatists earlier Thursday had seized a missile system called Buk from the Ukrainian army capable of downing a jet at that altitude.
The BUK missile is a medium-range surface-to-air missile developed by the Soviet Union which is designed to be flexible and fast to set up and fire.
The battery of missiles can be mounted on a vehicle and ready to fire within five minutes of arriving in a location, making it incredibly mobile and hard to track. The weapons system’s Russian maker, Almaz-Altey, claims the missile can hit targets up to an altitude of 25 kilometres.
Anton Gerashenko, an advisor to Ukraine’s interior minister, said on his Facebook page that a BUK missile struck the plane at an altitude of 10,000m.
This has yet to be officially confirmed.
Poroshenko expressed his "deepest and sincerest sympathies for the families and loved ones of those killed" and vowed that "those behind this tragedy will be brought to justice."
The plane crashed in a region where pro-Russian rebels have been engaging Ukrainian army forces in recent weeks, even reportedly shooting down some Ukrainian air force planes.
Malaysian Airlines confirmed that it had "lost contact" with one its planes in Ukrainian airspace.
Horrifying images have emerged on social media showing dozens of severely mutilated corpses strewn in the plane wreckage.
Debris was spread out for kilometres and the tail of the passenger jet lay in a corn field with the Malaysian Airlines insignia on it. Rebel fighters and several fire trucks were seen nearby the crash site.
