Nine Britons on Board Downed MH17 Flight

Nine Britons are now known to have died aboard flight MH17 when it crashed in eastern Ukraine, Malaysia Airlines has said. Officials from the airline said 298 people were on board the Boeing 777-200, which was apparently shot down over the war-torn country yesterday as it travelled from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.

Among them were 154 Dutch passengers, 45 Malaysians, including 15 crew, 27 Australians, 12 Indonesians, four Germans, four Belgians, three Filipinos and one Canadian. Three infants are among the dead and the nationalities of 41 passengers have yet to be verified. New Zealand authorities have also confirmed that one of its nationals died in the crash, the BBC said. It was reported that up to 100 of those killed were delegates on their way to an international conference on Aids in Melbourne, Australia. Reportedly among them was the world-renowned researcher and former International Aids Society president Joep Lange.

Glenn Thomas, a British media relations co-ordinator for the World Health Organisation, also died in the crash, according to WHO officials, The Times said. The newspaper said Mr Thomas, 49, was a former BBC journalist from Blackpool and had recently celebrated his birthday.

The plane was flying on a usual route that had earlier been declared safe by the International Civil Aviation Organisation, Malaysia Airlines said, while the International Air Transportation Association said the airspace it had been crossing was not subject to any restrictions. All European flights operated by the airline will be taking alternative routes with immediate effect.