Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was shot down over
Ukraine on Thursday, say American intelligence, while en route from Amsterdam
to Kuala Lumpur. The plane was carrying 298 people and had taken the usual daily route,
flying at least 300m above the 9,700m limit over Ukrainian airspace.
MAS said air traffic controllers lost contact with flight MH-17 at 1415 GMT as it flew over eastern Ukraine towards the Russian border, bound for Asia with 280 passengers and 15 crew aboard. Flight tracking data indicated it was at its cruising altitude of 10,000 metres when it disappeared.
The unofficial list of the MH17 flight manifest states that 20
Malaysians and two infants were on board the plane that was reportedly shot
down by insurgents near the Russian-Ukrainian border.
