A Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 en route to Kuala Lumpur was shot down today over Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board.
The plane, which departed from Amsterdam, was shot down near the Russian border. The Ukrainian government blamed pro-Russian separatists for shooting down the plane, and Russian President Vladamir Putin placed the blame squarely on the soldiers of Ukraine, according to published reports.
More than half of the people on board the plane — 154 — were from the Netherlands, according to Malaysia Airlines. Another 43, including 15 crew and two infants, were from Malaysia; media reports indicated 23 passengers were Americans.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with all affected passengers and crew and their family members,” the airline said in a statement.
Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which was also a Boeing 777, disappeared on March 8. That flight, traveling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, has not been found.