NEWS: Malaysia Airlines plane crashes in Ukraine. All 298 on board confirmed dead.

 What we know so far about MH17

– Authorities say that 27 Australians were on board

– The plane was carrying 298 passengers and crew

– The plane came down in Ukrainian airspace, reportedly after being hit with a surface to air missile

– Ukraine’s president has labelled it a “terrorist attack” 

– Russia has stated that the conflict in Eastern Ukraine is to blame

– There were at least 27 Australians on board. You can read more information about the Australian victims here.

A Malaysian passenger airliner with 298 people on board has been “shot down” over eastern Ukraine.

The plane was on its way from  Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, and was in open air space shortly before it crashed.

The plane was found burning on the ground in Donetsk, 50km from the Russian border – an area of Ukraine where there has been ongoing conflict between the Ukranian government and Ukranian rebels.

Twitter has been filled with descriptions of the crash site, littered with body parts after the plane broke up mid-air.

What happened to MH17?

According to reports, the Boeing 777 was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. The Ukrainian Interior Ministry adviser has said that 280 passengers and 15 crew died in the crash.

Ukranian Prime Minister, Petro Poroshenko, has said that the bringing down of the plane was a “terrorist act”, and that all guilty parties will be held responsible for the crash. He announced an immediate investigation. He said that he has called the Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte to offer condolences.

The passenger list has now been said to be –  Dutch 154, Australians 27,  Malaysia 23, Indonesia 11, UK 6, Germany 4, Belgium 4.

The BBC reports that over 100 bodies have been recovered so far.

Who is responsible for shooting down MH17?

Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, also wrote on Facebook that the plane was shot down at 33,000 by a Buk ground-to-air missile, and told Bloomberg that it was Ukrainian rebels who shot it down.

Ukrainian rebels have previously shot down aircraft in the area – however, to date, it has only been strikes on Ukrainian fighter jets.

The type of rocket thought to have shot down Mh17 is a Soviet-era surface to air missile system. It is guided by a radar station on the ground and has been used in the recent Ukrainian conflict to bring down military aircraft. Both pro-Russian and Ukrainian forces have been known to use the BUK system.

It has been reported that separatists have control of the area where the crash site is – with the BBC saying there are unconfirmed reports that they have the plan’s black box.

UPDATE: Alleged recording of phone conversation between Russian rebels: 

A YouTube video has surfaced that Ukrainian security officials say is a recording of a phone call between a Russian intelligence agent and a pro-Russian rebel leader, discussing a missile attack on a plane.

The men in the recording are reportedly Vasili Geranin, an alleged Russian spy, and Igor Bezler, a pro-Russian rebel leader.

Mashable reports, “In the first line, Bezler allegedly says “We have just shot down a plane.” (This line can also be translated to “We have seen a plane shot down,” but then both translations says “cossacks” —Russian volunteers—from Chernukhino road block shot it down.)”

A translation from the Kyiv Post quotes that the rebel says during the phone call, “We have just shot down a plane.” Later another rebel responds to the question “Are there any documents?” They answer: “Yes. Of an Indonesian student from Thompson University. Fuck.”

Is this the man who shot down MH17?

Fairfax has reported that Igor Girkin, a former Russian intelligence officer, is the prime suspect regarding who may have shot down MH17.

Girkin – who goes by the nickname Strelkov, meaning “shooter” – posted a message to a Russian social media just a few hours ago reading, “We did warn you — do not fly in our sky.”

Daniel Flitton has written that, “This chilling message was most probably aimed at the Ukraine government, Girkin’s target in a vicious separatist war. But that post has now been deleted as it has become clear the jet was from Malaysia Airlines, not a military transport aircraft of the type Girkin has brought down in recent weeks.”

Some of the world news responses to the MH17 tragedy so far: 

What have Malaysia Airlines said?

Malaysian Airways tweeted quickly after the news of the plane crash broke, confirming that it had lost contact with the plane:

Airlines such as Air France, Luftthansa, Turkish Airways and Aeroflot have already released statements, stating that they will be re-routing flights to avoid Ukrainian airspace until further notice.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott confirms Australians were on board MH17

Reports indicate that there were up to 27 Australians – or perhaps more – travelling on board MH17. Originally the number sat at 23, but has since increased.

State Premiers have started releasing details of how many people from their state may have been involved in the MH17 tragedy.

The Victorian Premiere Denis Napthine has said a number of Victorians were on board the flight, but would not say how many; while Queensland Premier Campbell Newman revealed that nine Queenslanders were on board.

The names of those Australians on board MH17 are slowly being released.

Melbourne University student Elaine Teoh confirmed among the passengers onflight HM17

— Alex White (@alexwhitelive) July 18, 2014

Earlier this morning on TODAY, Prime Minister Tony Abbott confirmed the deaths of 23 Australians. He said that the Department of Foreign Affairs was preparing a team to travel to the area to support the Australian families. He offered his “deepest, deppest condolences to those suffering.” “This is a terrible tragedy for them, for their loved ones, for their families,’’ he continued. “My deepest, deepest condolences to everyone, everyone connected with people on this flight.’” “If this is a crime rather than an accident, well it’s unspeakable crime,” he said later. The Deputy Prime Minister Julie Bishop echoed these sentiments in a later press conference. “There are reports that the plane has been shot down. If that is the case it is an unspeakable crime,” she said.

“We can’t yet point the finger and blame, until there has been a full investigation.” “I understand tragically that this was a flight that was connecting to Australia,” she continued. “We will do everything we can to support the Australian families who have been affected by this terrible tragedy.”

Passengers on board MH17

Original reports said that 295 were on board, but the most recent numbers put the total number of people on board at 298. The Washington Post has reported that three infants were travelling on board the plane. Passengers on board MH17 included HIV and AIDS researchers and activists, headed to Melbourne for an International AIDS Conference. Among those confirmed dead is President of International AIDS Society Joep Lange.

Organisers of the International AIDS Conference, which will begin next week in Melbourne, are seeking more information. AIDS 2014 have released the following statement, expressing their “sincere sadness at receiving news that a number of colleagues and friends…were on board.” 

My thoughts & prayers to families of those tragically lost on flight #MH17. Many passengers were enroute to #AIDS2014 here in #Melbourne. — Michel Sidibé (@MichelSidibe) July 17, 2014

Colleagues of some of the world’s top medical researchers have shared their sympathy and grief online.

There are reports that Joep Lange, a veteran #HIV/AIDS researcher from the Netherlands, was aboard MH17, en route to AIDS2014 in Melbourne. — Martin Enserink (@martinenserink) July 17, 2014

Lots of AIDS researchers, activists, officials on downed Malaysia Airlines flight to Melbourne for Intl AIDS Conference. — Gregg Gonsalves (@gregggonsalves) July 17, 2014

Joep Lange was a leading AIDS researcher and clinician and an activist at heart. Lost today too soon on Malaysian flight 019. RIP — Gregg Gonsalves (@gregggonsalves) July 17, 2014

Malaysian Chinese-language news source Sin Chew has released the named of 15 crew members on board MH17. They include Captain Wan Amran Bin Wan Hussin (male, 50 years old), Captain Eugene Choo Jin Leong (male, 45 years old), Vice- captain Ahmad Hakimi Bin Hanapi (male, 29 years old), and Vice- captain: Muhamad Firdaus Bin Abdul Rahim (male, 27 years old), among others.

Malaysian Prime Minister releases statement

And International Air Transportation Association has stated that the airspace the aircraft was traversing was not subject to restrictions. Malaysia Airlines has confirmed that the aircraft did not make a distress call. The flight was carrying a total number of 295 people – comprising 280 passengers and 15 crew members…

At this early stage, however, Malaysia is unable to verify the cause of this tragedy. But we must – and we will – find out precisely what happened to this flight. No stone can be left unturned.

If it transpires that the plane was indeed shot down, we insist that the perpetrators must swiftly be brought to justice. Emergency operations centres have been established. In the last few hours, Malaysian officials have been in constant contact with their counterparts in Ukraine and elsewhere. And I will be speaking to a number of world leaders over the coming hours…

This is a tragic day, in what has already been a tragic year, for Malaysia. As we work to understand what happened, our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of those onboard the flight. I cannot imagine what they must be going through at this painful time.

The flight’s passengers and crew came from many different countries. But today, regardless of nationality, we are all united in grief.

President Barack Obama releases statement

The White House have released a statement, offering “our deep condolences to all those who lost loved ones on board.”

The press release continued, “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 ensure safe and unfettered access to the crash site for international investigators and in order to facilitate the recovery of remains.”

“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 towards peace that the Ukrainian government has consistently put forward.”

Where was MH17 travelling?

 “This would almost certainly have to be a deliberate act”

The Huffington Post reports that the route over the Ukraine was used by carriers to save costs.

Aviation experts said that there had been warning to avoid the route over Ukraine because of the violence below, however many carriers continued to use it because it was shorter and therefore cheaper.

Professor Norman Shanks, the former head of group security at airports group BAA, and professor of aviation security at Coventry University has that the act must have been deliberate.

“This would almost certainly have to be a deliberate act, for whatever reason – we can only speculate. It should have been quite visible to people on the ground that it was a civilian aircraft, by the size of it and the shape of it. Anyone who has looked at a civilian aircraft or large military aircraft will know the difference.”

CNN reports that the route the plane was travelling was a common one. CNN Aviation expert Richard Quest said that  it was “extremely unusual” for an airliner at 32,000 feet to be shot down. From the ground, one could simply look up and tell whether a plane was a commercial aircraft.

“It looks like a commercial aircraft, it squawks a commercial aircraft. So something is absolutely appalling that’s gone on here,” he said.

The plane is reported to have come apart at altitude and disintegrated.

The MH17 crash site

This is the location where the plane was reportedly found:

According to the BBC, this is an image of the crash site in Ukraine:

Video has now emerged of a smoke plume from the crash site.

A passenger list has not been released, but tributes are starting to flow in to passengers on board. In a tragic twist of events one man posted to his Facebook a joke about MH370 before he boarded the plane. For more on this read this post here.

Mourners have begun to bring flowers to the Dutch embassy in Kyiv in Ukraine.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott announces day of mourning

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has announced a day of mourning for the estimated 28 Australians who were killed after Flight MH17 was shot down over Ukraine.

The Prime Minister advocated a “full, thorough” investigation into the incident, which he described as “highly probable” to have been “Russian-backed”. He expressed his dissatisfaction with the Russian Ambassador, who he says told Foreign Minister Julie Bishop that Ukraine was to blame for the incident.

Mr Abbott said that he queried how “fair dinkum” Russia’s involvement in an international investigation into the incident would be.

Mr Abbott said that the Australian consular emergency centre had received over 900 calls from Australians concerned about their friends and family. The Prime Minister and the Governor-General will attend a church service for victims in Sydney on Sunday.

Anyone with concerns for relatives or friends is urged to call:

DFAT HOTLINES : 1300 555 135  + 61 2 6261 3305 from overseas 

More to come.