MELBOURNE,
July 18 - Some of the passengers on a
Malaysian airliner that crashed in eastern Ukraine were headed to a major
international AIDS conference, the Australian government said on Friday.
Foreign
Minister Julie Bishop confirmed that at least 27 Australians were among the 298
passengers and crew on the flight that the United States says was brought down
by a surface to air missile.
"A
number of people who were travelling to Malaysia for an international AIDS
conference were also on board," Bishop told reporters.
Malaysian
Airlines Flight MH17 from Amsterdam to the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur
was due to connect with a flight to Perth, in western Australia, Bishop said.
UNAIDS
Director Michael Sidibe, who is in Melbourne, tweeted that many passengers were
en route to the conference.
"At
this incredibly sad and sensitive time the IAS stands with our international
family and sends condolences to the loved ones of those who have been lost to
this tragedy," the conference organisers, the International AIDS Society
(IAS), said in a statement.
As many
as 100 conference attendees were on the doomed flight, Fairfax Media reported,
including Joep Lange, a Dutch former president of the society who had spent 30
years researching and fighting the disease.
"The
IAS has also heard reports that among the passengers was a former IAS
president, Joep Lange, and if that is the case, then the HIV/AIDS movement has
truly lost a giant," IAS said.
The
week-long 20th International Aids Conference, with scheduled speakers including
former U.S. President Bill Clinton, is due to begin on Sunday.
Australian
Prime Minister Tony Abbott pointed the finger at Russia over the disaster and
said the perpetrators must be brought to justice.
"This
is a grim day for our country and it's a grim day for our world. Malaysian
Airlines MH17 has been shot down over the eastern Ukraine, it seems by
Russian-backed rebels," Abbott told parliament.
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