Ukraine govt, separatists deny shooting down Malaysian Airlines plane

An advisor in Ukraine Interior Ministry on Thursday said that the Malaysia Airlines plane was shot down over war-torn eastern Ukraine near the Russian border.

Zee Media Bureau

Kiev: An advisor in Ukraine Interior Ministry on Thursday said that a Malaysia Airlines plane was shot down over war-torn eastern Ukraine near the Russian border. Anton Gerashenko said on his Facebook page the plane was flying at an altitude of 10,000 meters (33,000 feet) when it was hit by a missile fired from a Buk launcher. All 295 people on board the Malaysia Airlines plane were feared dead after the aircraft crashed under mysterious circumstances. The Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur carrying 280 passengers and 15 crew. However, Separatist leader Aleksander Borodai denied any involvement in bombing of the passenger plane and blamed the downing of a Malaysian passenger airliner in eastern Ukraine on the country`s government forces. "Apparently, it`s a passenger airliner indeed, truly shot down by the Ukrainian Air Force," Borodai told Russia`s state-run Rossiya 24 TV broadcaster. Kiev has also denied any involvement of Ukraine`s armed forces. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said Thursday that he cannot rule out that the Malaysia Airlines flight may be shot down. Malaysian Prime Minister Mohammed Najib following the news which stated: “I am shocked by reports that an MH plane crashed. We are launching an immediate investigation.” This is the second major tragedy for Malaysia Airlines this year after flight MH370 with 227 passengers on board went missing on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing March 8 and has still not been traced.