Pro-Russians' Missile 'Likely Caused Jet Crash'
Updated: 9:17pm UK, Friday 18 July 2014
Britain has said it looks "increasingly likely" the missile which brought down a passenger plane in Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board, was fired by pro-Russian separatists.
A Downing Street spokesman said it was "too early to be categoric" but claimed the "growing weight of evidence" suggests the ground-to-air missile was fired from near Torez, in a region controlled by the rebels.
It adds weight to a similar claim made by the US, which said it "cannot rule out" the possibility Russia gave technical assistance to whoever shot down Malaysia Airlines flight MH17.
Authorities have begun arriving at the crash site near Grabovo, Donetsk, but European security monitors warned they had not been given "the kind of access they expected".
There are also reports of people taking debris and personal belongings.
Sky's Chief Correspondent Stuart Ramsay, at the scene, said: "Wreckage, bodies and body parts are spread over fields and villages for miles around.
"Volunteers have been marking the locations of dead passengers and crew with sticks and white ribbons."
The plane, a Boeing 777, was heading from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur at an altitude of 33,000ft (10,000m) when contact was lost on Thursday.
Some 80 children were on board, with 189 Dutch and 10 Britons among the victims.
The plane's black box recorders have been found but wreckage is scattered across such a remote and dangerous part of Ukraine, the "full and thorough" investigation demanded by the UN is yet to begin.
The aircraft came down close to where Ukrainian forces have been battling separatists, with both sides blaming each other for the disaster.
Ukraine condemned the "act of terrorism" and released what it claimed was a recording of an intercepted phone call between two Russian military intelligence officers, discussing the downing of the plane.
In an unverified video apparently taken moments after the plane was hit, an alleged pro-Russian rebel boasts: "Wow, that was a blast."
However, Russia pointed the finger at its neighbour, saying it picked up radar activity from a Ukrainian Buk missile system south of Donetsk when the aircraft came down.
The plane is thought to have broken up before hitting the ground, with the cockpit and a turbine found over half a mile apart and the tail reportedly landing six miles away.
Of the bodies strewn across the fields, many were largely intact, with some still strapped into seats.
Condemning what he called an "outrage of unspeakable proportions", US President Barack Obama said: "This is a global tragedy - an Asian airliner destroyed in European skies, with citizens from many countries on board."
Malaysia Airlines, still reeling from the loss of flight MH370 in March, said its plane was on a safe route, following claims it flew into airspace deemed dangerous for civilian aircraft.
Analysis by Sky News showed it was in the same area as four other planes when it was brought down.
More than 800 jets have flown above eastern Ukraine since Monday, some of which strayed into the no-fly zone.
:: Malaysia Airlines has set up an emergency line, 00 6 037 884 1234, for worried relatives, while the Foreign Office helpline is 0207 008 1500.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Tributes To British Students Killed In Crash
Dengan url
http://cucikakiku.blogspot.com/2014/07/tributes-to-british-students-killed-in.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Tributes To British Students Killed In Crash
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Tributes To British Students Killed In Crash
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar