The Malaysian Prime Minister is calling the apparent downing of a Malaysia Airlines jet “terrible and shocking” and said his country is dispatching investigators to Ukraine in the probe of the crash that killed 298 people. “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,” Prime Minister Najib Razak said in a statement today.
Malaysian officials have not confirmed that the Boeing 777-200 was shot down. U.S. officials told NBC news that Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down with a surface to air missile as the jet flew at 33,000 feet over a disputed region of Ukraine near the Russian border on its way from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. Pro-Russian separatists fighting Ukraine’s government in the region denied they shot the jet down.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of those onboard the flight,” the statement went on. “But today, regardless of nationality, we are all united in grief.”
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