WASHINGTON – US officials reacted with shock and sadness at the news of a jumbo jet that has now been confirmed to have been shot out of the sky in the troubled Eastern Europe country of Ukraine.
“We are horrified by the crash of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17,” Secretary of State John Kerry said Thursday. “There are no words adequate to express our condolences to the families of the nearly 300 victims. We are reviewing whether any American citizens were aboard the flight. The United States Government remains prepared to assist with a credible, international investigation any way we can, and we will continue to be in touch with all relevant partners as we seek the facts of what happened today.”
Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, which was on a scheduled flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur went down in eastern Ukraine. Malaysia Airlines confirms that the aircraft did not make a distress call. The aircraft was a Boeing 777-200.
The usual flight route was earlier declared safe by the International Civil Aviation Organisation. International Air Transportation Association has stated that the airspace the aircraft was traversing was not subject to restrictions.
As opposed to the earlier statement, the flight was carrying a total number of 298 people – comprising 283 passengers including three infants of various nationalities and 15 crew of Malaysian nationality. Some of the nationalities of the passengers are yet to be determined.
List of number of passengers and crew according to nationality are as follows:-
Nationality Total
Netherlands 154
Malaysia 43 (including 15 crew & 2 infants)
Australia 27
Indonesia 12 (including 1 infant)
United Kingdom 9
Germany 4
Belgium 4
Philippines 3
Canada 1
Unverified 41
Total 298
Malaysia Airlines is in the process of notifying the next-of-kin of the passengers and crew.
The White House released the following statement:
The United States is shocked by the downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17, and we offer our deep condolences to all those who lost loved ones on board. We continue to seek information to determine whether there were any American citizens on board.
It is critical that there be a full, credible, and unimpeded international investigation as quickly as possible. We urge all concerned – Russia, the pro-Russian separatists, and Ukraine – to support an immediate cease-fire in order to ensure safe and unfettered access to the crash site for international investigators and in order to facilitate the recovery of remains. The role of international organizations – such as the United Nations and the OSCE in Ukraine – may be particularly relevant for this effort, and we will be in touch with affected nations and our partners in these organizations in the coming hours and days to determine the best path forward. In the meantime, it is vital that no evidence be tampered with in any way and that all potential evidence and remains at the crash site are undisturbed. The United States remains prepared to contribute immediate assistance to any international investigation, including through resources provided by the NTSB and the FBI.
While we do not yet have all the facts, we do know that this incident occurred in the context of a crisis in Ukraine that is fueled by Russian support for the separatists, including through arms, materiel, and training. This incident only highlights the urgency with which we continue to urge Russia to immediately take concrete steps to de-escalate the situation in Ukraine and to support a sustainable cease-fire and path toward peace that the Ukrainian government has consistently put forward.
Families of passengers on Malaysia Airlines flight #MH17 wait for updates: http://t.co/EB3Q7fFXB6 pic.twitter.com/NMa5dIYL47
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) July 18, 2014
Map: Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 crashed in an area of Ukraine where rebels are active http://t.co/Adoz1aAfcY
— The New York Times (@nytimes) July 18, 2014
PHOTOS: From the scene of the Malaysia Airlines flight #MH17 crash near Ukraine-Russia border. http://t.co/LCO5aYpkiA pic.twitter.com/9EazeRt8P3
— Reuters (@Reuters) July 17, 2014
You spend o crats will support whatever party keeps the drugs and the free money coming in. It wouldn’t matter if it was the communist party so your opinions have the same worth as cattle dung. When the imperial idiot is finally out of office the working class can begin to repair the damage done by the leech party and start killing some of the endless give away programs. That must be a terrifying thought to doper and hideous.
There’s no difference between these two political parties you moron.
I don’t report many comments, but calling President Obama a “dumb ape” earned you one by me. I don’t think you’re comment should be deleted necessarily, but I just had to report it for my own conscious. BTW…I was watching C Span this morning and a typical anti-Obama caller sounded like a dumb Iowa hick as he tried to say Obama didn’t care about the downing of the plane. Something tells me it was one of you cretinoids. Obama’s IQ is more than your entire family combined.
Agreed.
“dot’s comment was racist and ignorant beyond belief.
I hit the “report comment” as well and now it’s gone.
As it should be.
@Philly-Once again you are so full of crap it is blinding you to reality. I know what Osama’s I.Q. is and I know what mine is and he is 20 points below me. Of course someone as ignorant and judgemental as you is incapable of understanding simple numbers like that.
Osama is dead…so ya, about twenty points higher seems right.
@what-You had best be careful with that kind of remark. He is still the president even if I do not like him.
You never cease to amaze LVS. Thanks for making my point by the way.
Let’s break this down.
1.LVS insults the President by referring to him as “Osama”
2. What? calls him out on it, correctly pointing out that LVS’s IQ is indeed 20 points above the dead Osama bin Laden.
3. LVS, not comprehending as usual, feigns false indignity, hypocritically attempting to defend the President.
4. What?, acknowledges the fact that the clueless and totally devoid of intelligence LVS does not need any assistance in proving that he (LVS) is indeed an idiot.
@perhaps-If they had a class on ignorance and stupidity you not only would be at the head of the class, you could teach it. Now anaylize that.
^ “Lloyd, just when I think you couldn’t possibly be any dumber, you go and do something like this….And totally redeem yourself!”-Harry Dunne
@Ron-all you have to do is get your head out of your a## and the smell will go away, eventually. If you don’t, with any luck at all you will sufficate.
it was suposed to say ass not ape. autocorrect. disrespect me ever again little man.
and one more thing, this is what a real plane being shot down looks like. rember flight 93? how it completly disetagrated and the was not a shred of evidence except for the perfectly pristine passports. lol man if this dosnt wake you sheep up nothing will
and now all you clueless americans arnt paying attention the the thousands of criminals crossing our border everyday illegaly. whos to say the “terrorist” arnt gonna sneak thru mexican border and launch another attack,
I woke up this morning thinking again how abominable this is. I’ve flown to Netherlands and out of Netherlands (flying over Croatia and Bosnia). It could have been ANY OF US on that plane. Clear Lake Christian missionaries often go to Ukraine. I read that 140+ Dutch people were aboard that plane. This is really bad, and if it is Putin’s corrupt government that did this, he needs to be pulled apart by the seams by 2 horse running opposite directions…WITH his shirt on.
My uncle is in the peace corp and leaves next week for one of those former USSR countries, could have been him too.
Spoken like true spend o crat sheep doper and hideous.
This is despicable. Chechen rebels? I don’t see how Putin’s government would benefit killing so many foreigners. Maybe it’s some plot against Malaysian airlines by an Indonesian rebel group?
Where were you when this happened, those jets are pretty loud.
Tasteless, maybe, tasteless. Same with you LVS. This is a tragedy. Trying to make fun of it or casting blame at our government is really tacky.
So it is tasteless of me to crack a joke about it but not for Obama?
maybe, I don’t think the President cracked a joke about the downing of the jet. You did. And, yes it is tasteless. Regardless of how you and LVS try to justify it, it is still wrong. And neither of you is big enough to admit it. Well, maybe you are, but LVS can’t. He is not intelligent enough to realize he is wrong.Typical right winger.
Obama said jokingly that it looks like it might be a terrible tragedy.
http://americanglob.com/2014/07/17/americans-were-on-plane-shot-down-over-ukraine-obama-heads-to-fundraisers/
What are you talking about? I just went to your link and watched the clip. The president doesn’t joke about the tragedy in any way shape or form.
Then let me ask you, do you think that the shooting down of that airliner was a tragedy? I know I do yet Obama said he thinks it might be. Every web site that I went to about his speech mentioned how he joked about it being a tragedy.
Wow maybe, just wow.
How in the heck did you manage to pull that “interpretation” of Obama’s attitude out of your butt?
reality challenged
(adj.)
Definition: being in a state in which one is utterly and completely unable to distinguish fact from fiction, and is thus obviously and undeniably full of crap.
Example: See maybe
headline news and cnn both called it a joke, looks like you need a new news supply.
I need a new news source? I went to YOUR link to see what you were talking about. If you want to argue that saying the crash “might be a tragedy” was poor phrasing, then have at it. But he wasn’t “joking” about it. By the way, when a website has the subtitle “Conservative Libertarian News and Views”, you can probably bet it’s not the most reliable. If I linked you to a Huffington Post or Mother Jones article would you take it seriously?
I knew someone would say that it wasn’t a reliable web site that’s why I picked it, because it had the video of Obama saying it, hard to refute that numbnuts.
@bodacious-Up your whiner. You are nothing but an Obama crybaby. Your opinion doesn’t mean crap.
It’s alright Bodacious, I sentence @maybe to a really difficult bowel movement in the coming days, followed by a bout of the runs. Actually that’s nothing new for him as he devours Burger King & McDonald’s on a daily basis.
That is hilarious, sentencing me to a difficult peter. Actually I haven’t had McDonalds in a very long time and even longer for burger king. I do like the monster burgers at hardees but it has been months for that too.
I guess you’re going all lentils and peas on us. How’s your garden coming anyway? (taking a wild guess that maybe has a garden). Can’t wait for those maters to start coming in myself…yumm yumm good.
I thought about starting a garden this year but I didn’t, sorry to disappoint you. My grandsons do like Mater though; the cartoon character that is.
Don’t worry Hesh:
Maybe’s IQ level was tested to be in the high 90’s.
He/she is smarter than we thought.
guess again smarty pants
High 70’s?
Not even close, just ask peter.
Yep, it was a solid 160. #maybe was part of an experimental IQ testing program at the university of Iowa that grossly exaggerrated test results to learn if a placebo effect could positively alter mental performance.
Maybe that is true peter but it worked, I’ve started 2 businesses and did very well with both all without a college degree. I just got bored so I tried something different. I’ve worked hard my entire life at different jobs including the military and now I am retired and spending time with my grandkids. Right now I am making a cribbage for my next grandson due next month. I am serious when I say this peter, coffees on me.
Make that a cradle instead of cribbage, I hate spell check.
Coffees on you? Does that mean I make you laugh so coffee spits out of your mouth? Or is that another casualty of spell check?
actually I don’t drink coffee, rather drink iced tea but I would buy you a cup of coffee, no spell check.
Putin knows he can do anything he wants and our spineless government will do absolutely nothing about it except cut more of our military.
Fair comment. Putin is doing as he pleases. This whole powder keg region is reminiscent of 1939 Europe and in some ways 1914 Europe. Alliances, nationalism, crazed, warring factions ready to behead each other and a “dictator” who is annexing countries at will while a powerless entity (UN) debates endlessly as tensions escalate. This could get bad in a hurry.
How is it different than what we we did to Iran? See, you’re only looking at the world from your own biased perspective.
@Hesh-What a dumb a## you are. Just what in the HELL has Iraq got to do with this situation. So typical of you ignorant liberals. Whenever you don’t have a real argument you try to change the subject. It must have been Bush’s fault. Why don’t you just admit you are ignorant and that you made a mistake in electing the worst president this country has ever seen.
I see LVS got hit with the stupid stick again. I’d think by now, you’d find away around your daily morning beatings. I suppose with your “corporal punishment” upbringing stupid was instilled in you early on. I feel sorry for you LVS, as yours must have been a real ass whooping with no chance for escape. Dad got you good huh?
You know there is only 1 way to stop a bully and all you people out there are bullies. If someone disagrees with you you attack him and if he fights back you all gang up on him. Sounds like a whole boatload of pussies to me. You people couldn’t actually win an argument even if the other person conceded yet you still keep trying. You all attack LVS yet ignored the fact that matt agreed with his original statement, because you all hate LVS because he says what he thinks no matter what.
You can’t possibly be that clueless, maybe.
Hypocritical much?
LVS and you have both initiated verbal attacks on people that disagree with you.
And actually it is your two attitudes that promulgated these counter-attacks from a whole lot of other people.
You used to be a semi-reasonable guy, but of late, your paranoia and increasingly narrow-minded views have caused you to become delusional…or vice-versa.
(con’t)
And because Marquardt agrees with something makes it gospel?
But I do get a kick out of you maybe, and LVS sometimes.
You guys rant and rave about just everyone else, but when Matt Markquardt makes a comment you two clowns slobber all over yourselves trying to see which one of you can be the biggest bootlicker.
It doesn’t matter if I agree with matt or not, the fact that matt agreed with LVS and you jump all over LVS makes you the buttlicker.
I am a reasonable person and am open minded. If you disagree with me and try to explain your side of it and you remain reasonable so will I but you don’t, you attack and try to belittle me so I respond in kind. I love a good debate but some of you are nothing but anonymouse bullies that don’t care about making a point but putting someone down or making fun of them.