298 People Dead in Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 Crash

Many of the world leaders are demanding an investigation after a Malaysian airliner was shot down over eastern Ukraine in which all of the 298 people on board were killed. One of the U.S. officials said that Washington is strongly suspecting a surface to air missile which brought down the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 which was flying from Kuala Lumpur on Thursday. This tragedy could possible lead to increasing the tensions between Russia and the West.

There was no evidence Ukrainian government forces fired a missile, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity. Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott appeared to go further than other Western leaders in apportioning blame, demanding on Friday that Moscow answer questions about the “Russian-backed rebels” that he said were behind the disaster.

There were more than 20 Australians among the many nationalities aboard Flight MH17 and there were 154 Dutch citizens onboard. The plane crashed near the village of Hrabove about 40 km (25 miles) from the border with Russia near the regional capital of Donetsk, an area that is a stronghold of rebels who have been fighting Ukrainian government forces for several months.

Ukraine accused pro-Moscow militants, aided by Russian military intelligence officers, of firing a long-range, Soviet-era SA-11 ground-to-air missile. Leaders of the rebel Donetsk People’s Republic denied any involvement and said a Ukrainian air force jet had brought down the intercontinental flight. Russian President Vladimir Putin is blaming Kiev for renewing its offensive against rebels two weeks ago after a ceasefire failed to hold. Though he called it a “tragedy” he did not say who brought the Boeing 777 down.

Denisha Sahadevan