Malaysian airliner carrying 295 people may have been shot down by militants
Malaysian jet MH17 with 295 passengers crashes in Ukraine
A Malaysian airliner carrying 295 people from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur crashed on Thursday in rebel-held east Ukraine, as Kiev said the jet was shot down in a "terrorist" attack.
Ukraine's government and pro-Russian insurgents traded blame for the disaster, with comments attributed to a rebel commander suggesting his men may have downed Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 by mistake, believing it was a Ukrainian army transport plane.
There was no sign of survivors at the crash site near the rebel-held town of Shaktarsk in the Donetsk region, where an AFP reporter saw dozens of severely mutilated corpses strewn through the smouldering wreck of the decimated airliner.
Debris stretched for kilometres in the area near the Russian border, with the jet's tail marked with the Malaysian Airlines insignia laying in a corn field, and insurgent fighters and fire trucks nearby.
Russian news agency Itar-Tass cited a Ukrainian aviation official as saying no one had survived.
Malaysia Airlines announced on Twitter the loss of the Boeing 777, which had been expected in the Malaysian capital at around 6:00 am on Friday (2200 GMT Thursday).
The disaster comes just months after Malaysia's Flight MH370 disappeared on March 8 with 239 on board. The plane diverted from its Kuala Lumpur to Beijing flight path and its fate remains a mystery despite a massive aerial and underwater search.
Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak said on Twitter he was "shocked by reports that an MH plane crashed" and announced an "immediate investigation."
Boeing said it was ready to assist the authorities in any way following the crash.
Rebel site suggests insurgents shot down Malaysia plane by mistake
A social media site attributed to a top Ukrainian rebel commander said the insurgents had shot down an army transporter at the location where a Malaysia Airlines plane crashed on Thursday near the Russian border.
The comments by the top military commander of the self-proclaimed "Donetsk People's Republic" suggest the separatists had shot down the Malaysia Airlines plane by mistake, believing it was a large Ukrainian army transport plane.
"We just downed an An-26 near Torez. It is down near the Progress mine," said the VK page attributed to Igor Strelkov, which is frequently quoted by Ukrainian media.
The rebels shot down another An-26 in rebel-held eastern Ukraine on June 14, killing 49 government servicemen.
Recordings show rebels shot down plane
Ukraine's security services produced what they said were two intercepted telephone conversations that they said showed rebels were responsible for downing a Malaysian airliner.
In the first call, the security services said, rebel commander Igor Bezler tells a Russian military intelligence officer that rebel forces shot down a plane Thursday.
In the second, two rebel fighters -- one of them at the scene of the crash -- say the rocket attack was carried out by a unit of insurgents about 25 kilometers (15 miles) north of the crash site.
Neither recording could be independently verified.
Russia asks to help at Ukraine plane crash site
Russia asked Kiev on Thursday for permission to help with rescue work in eastern Ukraine after a Malaysian passenger airliner was brought down there, the Emergencies Ministry said.
"The Russian emergency services sent an official request to our Ukrainian colleagues to carry out joint work at the crash site of a Boeing (plane) on Ukrainian territory," Emergencies Minister Vladimir Puchkov told Russia's RIA news agency.
Russia's Health Ministry also offered its expertise in helping to identify the bodies of the 295 people killed, ministry spokesman Oleg Salagan told RIA.
It was not clear whether Kiev had responded.
Malaysia Airlines Plane Was Hit by Surface-to-Air Missile, U.S. Officials Say
A Malaysia Airlines plane carrying 295 passengers and crew came down Thursday while flying over the battle-torn east Ukraine region of Donetsk, after it was hit by what U.S. intelligence agencies said was a surface-to-air missile.
The intelligence sources didn't say whether the missile was fired by Ukrainian forces or pro-Russia separatist rebels.
The plane went down near the village of Hrabove in the Donetsk region while flying at a height of about 10,000 meters (32,800 feet), according to Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine's Interior Ministry.
World leaders demand probe in Malaysia plane crash
World leaders expressed shock on Thursday after a Malaysian airliner carrying 295 people crashed in eastern Ukraine, calling for an international investigation to determine the cause of the disaster.
President Barack Obama called the crash "a terrible tragedy" and said US officials were trying to establish if any Americans were on board.
"The world is watching reports of a downed passenger jet near the Russia/Ukraine border. And it looks like it may be a terrible tragedy... The United States will offer any assistance we can to help determine what happened and why."
British Prime Minister David Cameron tweeted: "I'm shocked and saddened by the Malaysian air disaster."
He added that government officials were meeting "to establish the facts".
British media have reported that between five and 10 British citizens were on board MH17.
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