#MH17: Dutch victims rises to 189

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Malaysia Airlines on Friday revised the number of Dutch nationals killed in the MH17 disaster upward to 189 as it confirmed the identities of dozens more passengers.

The airline has said 298 people — 283 passengers, including three infants of various nationalities, and 15 Malaysian crew — were killed when the plane went down Thursday in strife-torn eastern Ukraine.

A previous tally hours earlier had put the number of Dutch at 173, but the flag carrier had noted it was working to identify all the passengers.

The Boeing 777 came down in cornfields in the separatist-held region, with the United States claiming it was shot down in a missile attack, a possible casualty of Ukraine’s battle with pro-Russian rebels.

The tragedy has triggered world-wide revulsion and calls for the perpetrators to be found and brought to justice.

The latest tally also said there were 44 Malaysians, including the crew and two infants, and 27 Australians.

Twelve were Indonesians including an infant, 9 were British, four German, 3 from the Philippines, one Canadian and one New Zealander.

The airline said four were Belgian but the Belgian foreign minister has said five Belgians were on board.

Malaysia Airlines said the nationalities of four passengers remained unconfirmed.

Malaysia Airlines has said it would send a team to Ukraine on Friday to help with the investigation.

The crash is the Netherlands’ second-worst air disaster to date.

The worst came in 1977 when 238 Dutch citizens died at Tenerife in the Canary Islands when two Boeing 747s collided with the loss of 582 lives.

The crash is a fresh blow to the flag carrier which, along with the Malaysian government, is still struggling to provide answers on the disappearance of flight MH370 on March 8 with 239 people aboard. – AFP/Rappler.com