Malaysian airline crashes in eastern Ukraine, 295 reported dead

UKRAINE   —  A Malaysian Airlines with 295 passenger onboard flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur crashed in eastern Ukraine on Thursday afternoon, reportedly killing all 295 passengers and crew members on board, Ukrainian officials said, adding that the aircraft may have been shot down.

The incident happened at approximately 4:20 p.m. local time when Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 disappeared from radar screens while flying over eastern Ukraine near the border with Russia. Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine’s interior minister, said 280 passengers and 15 crew members were believed to be on board.

Malaysia Airlines has lost contact with MH17 from Amsterdam. The last known position was over Ukrainian airspace. More details to follow,” the airline said in a brief statement. It did not confirm Flight MH17 had crashed, but aviation monitors said data showed the Boeing 777 stopped transmitting while over eastern Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko immediately ordered the establishment of a National Commission to investigate the cause of the disaster. “We do not exclude the possibility that the aircraft was shot down,” the presidency said in a statement, adding that the country’s armed forces had not taken any action against the aircraft.

Malaysian Defense Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said he has directed the countrys Ministry of Defense to investigate the incident, according to a message on his Twitter account. He said he could not confirm that the plane was shot down.

But multiple reports, including from Russia's Interfax news agency, said the plane was shot down at cruising altitude. Anton Gerashenko, an adviser to Ukraine's Interior Minister told The Associated press that the plane, carrying 280 passengers and 15 crew people onboard, was shot down.

The plane apparently went down, near the city of Kremenchuk, has been embroiled in the larger dispute between Ukraine and ethnic Russian separatists. Fighting has intensified in recent months in the region. A day before, according to the Ukrainian government, a Russian military plane shot down a Ukrainian fighter jet in Ukrainian airspace.

The Boeing jets are equipped with twin Rolls-Royce Trent engines, typically cruises at 35,000 feet at speeds up to 639 miles per hour.

On March 8, Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, also a Boeing 777 and carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew on a route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, disappeared somewhere over the ocean. It has not been found.