BRUSSELS, July 18 (RIA Novosti) - NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has called for a comprehensive investigation in the Thursday crash of the Malaysian Flight MH17 in eastern Ukraine.
“It is important that a full international investigation should be launched immediately, without any hindrance, to establish the facts and that those who may be responsible are swiftly brought to justice,” Rasmussen said in a statement.
A Malaysian Airlines Boeing-777 flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur crashed near the town of Torez in the Donetsk Region on Thursday. There were at least 280 passengers and 15 crew members on board.
The military alliance’s chief emphasized that “much is unclear about the circumstances of the crash,” but added instability in the region had apparently created “an increasingly dangerous situation.”
Ukrainian authorities and self-defense forces in the Donetsk region, a focal point of Kiev’s “anti-terrorist” operation in eastern Ukraine, have been trading blame for the alleged downing of Malaysia Airlines’ Boeing-777, with militia stressing the plane was clearly outside the range of their Manpads.
“I am profoundly shocked and saddened by the crash of a Malaysia Airlines passenger aircraft in Ukraine today, with the loss of many lives,” Rasmussen said.
“I offer my sincerest condolences to the families and the loved ones of the victims and to all those touched by this terrible tragedy,” he added.
The Malaysian jet crash took the lives of 295 people, including 15 crew members. This is the second plane crash involving a Malaysian passenger plane, following the March disappearance of Flight MH370 en route to Beijing.
