Jul 17, 2015

HRABOVE, Ukraine – All 298 people onboard Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 were killed when the plane was downed on July 17, 2014, over rebel-controlled territory in eastern Ukraine, where government forces and the Russia-backed separatists had been fighting for months. Ukrainian and Western officials said the plane was shot down by a rebel missile, most likely by mistake, and that Russia supplied the weapon or trained rebels to use it. Both the rebels and Moscow denied that.

A preliminary report released in the Netherlands last year said the plane had no technical problems in the seconds before it broke up in the sky after being struck by multiple “high-energy objects from outside the aircraft,” which could have been a missile.

A year after the crash, the families of the victims are still waiting for the results of the investigation, while residents of Hrabove keep finding personal belongings and parts of plane in the area.

: People wearing t-shirts bearing a drawing of a plane and slogans reading ” MH 17, One year in the skies” hold flowers to the Dutch embassy in Kiev on July 17, 2015 in memory of the people who died in the crash of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17. All 298 passengers and crew — the majority Dutch — died on July 17 last year when the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777, on a flight between Amsterdam and Kuala Lumpur, was shot down over rebel-held east Ukraine during heavy fighting between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists. (AFP Photo/P / )

: The Dutch flag flies at half mast above the first chamber in The Hague, on July 17, 2015. Britain joined a chorus of countries calling for a UN-backed tribunal to prosecute those responsible for downing flight MH17, as relatives remembered their dead in ceremonies on the first anniversary of the disaster. All 298 passengers and crew — the majority Dutch — died on July 17 last year when the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777, on a flight between Amsterdam and Kuala Lumpur, was shot down over rebel-held east Ukraine during heavy fighting between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists. (AFP Photo/Anp / )

: Ukrainian lawmakers hold flowers as they offer them at the Netherlands Embassy for the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 crash victims, in Kiev, Ukraine, Friday, July 17, 2015. Residents of the Ukrainian village where the Malaysian airliner was shot down with 298 people aboard a year ago joined a procession to the crash site on Friday, while Australia’s prime minister remembered the “savagery” of the disaster as he unveiled a plaque in Canberra that’s set in soil from where the wreckage fell. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

: A woman holding flowers arrives at the commemoration ceremony for the people who died in the crash of the Malaysian Airlines flight MH17, in Nieuwegein, near the central city of Utrecht, Netherlands, on July 17, 2015. All 298 passengers and crew – the majority Dutch – died on July 17 last year when the Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777, on a flight between Amsterdam and Kuala Lumpur, was shot down over rebel-held east Ukraine during heaving fighting between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists. (AFP Photo/Anp / )

: People are reflected in a window, as the stand in front of flowers laid at the departure hall 3, at the airport in Schiphol, the Netherlands, on July 17, 2015, in memory of the people who died in the crash of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 a year ago. All 298 passengers and crew — the majority Dutch — died on July 17 last year when the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777, on a flight between Amsterdam and Kuala Lumpur, was shot down over rebel-held east Ukraine during heavy fighting between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists. (AFP Photo/Anp / )

: A religious procession passes an Orthodox cross with a sign reading Save and Guard at the crash site of the Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, near the village of Hrabove, eastern Ukraine, Friday, July 17, 2015. Residents of the Ukrainian village where the Malaysian airliner was shot down with 298 people aboard a year ago began a procession to the crash site on Friday, while the Australian prime minister remembered the ìsavageryî of the disaster by unveiling a plaque in Canberra thatís set in soil from the place where the plane went down. (AP Photo/Mstyslav Chernov)

: A man kneels down in front of flowers laid in front of the Dutch embassy in Kiev on July 17, 2015 in memory of the people who died in the crash of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17. All 298 passengers and crew — the majority Dutch — died on July 17 last year when the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777, on a flight between Amsterdam and Kuala Lumpur, was shot down over rebel-held east Ukraine during heavy fighting between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists. (AFP Photo/P / )

: Family members and friends of victims gather in front of a ‘hedge of compassion’ , made of thousands of dolls , during a commemoration ceremony for the people who died in the crash of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17, in Nieuwegein, near the central city of Utrecht, the Netherlands, on July 17, 2015. All 298 passengers and crew — the majority Dutch — died on July 17 last year when the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777, on a flight between Amsterdam and Kuala Lumpur, was shot down over rebel-held east Ukraine during heavy fighting between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists. (AFP Photo/Pool / )

: Flowers, a candle and paper aiplanes lie on the pavement in front of the Dutch embassy in Kiev on July 17, 2015 in memory of the people who died in the crash of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17. All 298 passengers and crew — the majority Dutch — died on July 17 last year when the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777, on a flight between Amsterdam and Kuala Lumpur, was shot down over rebel-held east Ukraine during heavy fighting between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists. (AFP Photo/P / )

: A relative of an Australian victim of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 touches a memorial that was unveiled outside Parliament House to mark the first anniversary of the plane’s downing, in Canberra on July 17, 2015. All 298 passengers and crew on board the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 Boeing 777 were killed, the majority of them Dutch, but with 38 Australian citizens and residents among them, when the plane was shot down over Ukraine. (AFP Photo/Pool / )

: Australia’s Prime Minister Tony Abbott (centre R) and his wife Margaret prepare to lay a wreath for the Australian victims of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 at a ceremony unveiling a memorial on the first anniversary of the plane’s downing, outside Parliament House in Canberra on July 17, 2015. All 298 passengers and crew on board the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 Boeing 777 were killed, the majority of them Dutch, but with 38 Australian citizens and residents among them, when the plane was shot down over Ukraine. (AFP Photo/Pool / )

: Family members place wattle on a wreath during a memorial service honouring victims of flight MH17 on July 17, 2015 in Canberra, Australia. 298 people died when Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 was struck down by a missile over Ukraine on 17 July, 2014. (Photo by Stefan Postles/Getty Images)

: Flowers were laid in front of the departure hall 3, at the airport in Schiphol, the Netherlands, on July 17, 2015, in memory of the people who died in the crash of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 a year ago. All 298 passengers and crew — the majority Dutch — died on July 17 last year when the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777, on a flight between Amsterdam and Kuala Lumpur, was shot down over rebel-held east Ukraine during heavy fighting between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists. (AFP Photo/Anp / )

: People stand with Orthodox crosses and icons as they attend a memorial service at the crash site of the Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, near the village of Hrabove, eastern Ukraine, Friday, July 17, 2015. In a solemn procession, residents of the Ukrainian village where a Malaysian airliner was shot down with 298 people aboard a year ago marched Friday to the crash site. (AP Photo/Mstyslav Chernov)

Remembering the victims of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 a year later

Leave a Reply Cancel