Malaysian Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein denied Ukraine government’s claim that the Malaysian Airlines plane had been shot down.
Tweeting that he had been "monitoring [the events] closely," Hussein said that the MH17 had crashed.
"No comfirmation [sic] it was shot down! Our military have been instructed 2 get on it!" reported The Guardian.
Ukraine's prime minister called the downing of the flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur a “catastrophe.” Interior ministry official Anton Gerashchenko said on Facebook that it was "shot down with a Buk anti-aircraft system by terrorists” - a term the Kiev government uses for militants seeking to unite eastern Ukraine with Russia.
However, Eastern Ukraine separatist leader Alexander Borodai denied the claim and said the airliner was shot down by Ukrainian government forces. Kiev denied involvement with the incident.
The Boeing 777 came down near the city of Donetsk, stronghold of pro-Russian rebels. The dead were 280 passengers and 15 crew.
The Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak said via Twitter: "I am shocked by reports that an MH plane crashed. We are launching an immediate investigation."
Barack Obama, who has just landed in Delaware, has been briefed about the airliner crash. His spokesman, Josh Earnest, told reporters on board Air Force One that the president had instructed his staff to keep him updated and make contact with senior Ukrainian officials.
