Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 Crash Update: 3 Filipinos Among Passengers Presumed Dead

Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 that was reportedly shot down by insurgents near the Russian-Ukrainian border carried a total of 280 passengers and 15 crew members, who are now presumed dead.

Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17

According to latest reports, 3 of the passengers held Philippine passports. Other nationalities that have been identified include Dutch (154), Australian (27), Malaysian (23), Indonesian (11), British (6), German (4), Belgian (4) and Canadian (1). The rest have not been immediately known.

Operated on a Boeing 777, Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 left Amsterdam at 12.15pm (Amsterdam local time) and was estimated to arrive at Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 6.10 am (Malaysia local time) the next day.

Malaysia Airlines said it received notification from Ukrainian ATC that it had lost contact with flight MH17 at 1415 (GMT) at 30km from Tamak waypoint, approximately 50km from the Russia-Ukraine border. Flight tracking data indicated it was at its cruising altitude of 10,000 metres when it disappeared.

Photo: A Facebook post from a Dutch passenger on board Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, posted as he was boarding the flight at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam early Thursday, says: "If it disappears, this is what it looks like". The post has been widely shared on Facebook since the flight later went down in Ukraine while en route to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.