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![The Malaysian Airlines plane was allegedly shot down as it was en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur [Xinhua]](http://thebricspost.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/224589523_8.jpg)
The Malaysian Airlines plane was allegedly shot down as it was en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur [Xinhua]
Interior Ministry official Anton Gerashenko said that the Malaysian Airlines plane was carrying 295 passengers and flying at an altitude of 33,000 feet when it was downed by a missile fired from a Buk launcher.
The Buk missile system is mobile and was developed as a Soviet-era precision anti-aircraft weapon.
According to agency reports, Malaysian Airlines earlier Tweeted on its Twitter account that air traffic controllers had “lost contact of MH17 from Amsterdam. The last known position was over Ukrainian airspace. More details to follow”.
Ukrainian officials said that they had lost a Sukhoi-25, believed to have been shot down by an air-to-air missile, a day earlier.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said on his Twitter account that he was shocked by the downing of the commercial airliner and that Kuala Lumpur had already launched an official investigation.
According to Russia’s official government website, Russian President Vladimir Putin informed US President Barack Obama of the airline being downed during a Thursday morning phone call.
At press time, it was not immediately clear who had allegedly fired the Buk missile.
Source: Agencies
