At least 154 Dutch citizens killed in Ukraine air disaster

AMSTERDAM - At least 154 Dutch citizens have been killed in the Malayssian passenger crash in the eastern part of Ukraine on Thursday, the airlines European head said.

A man works at putting out a fire at the site of a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 plane crash in the settlement of Grabovo in the Donetsk region, July 17, 2014. The Malaysian airliner was shot down over easternUkraineby pro-Russian militants on Thursday, killing all 295 people aboard, a Ukrainian interiorministry official said. [Photo/Agencies]

Huib Gorte said that the victims include 154 Dutch passengers, 27 Australians, 23 Malaysians, 11 Indonesians, 6 Britons, 4 Germans, 4 Belgians, 3 Philippines, 1 Canadian and more of yet unknown identities.

The Malaysia Airlines MH17 passenger plane crashed Thursday in Ukraine near the Russian border, with all the 283 passengers and 15 crew members on board reportedly having been killed.

All 15 crew members are Malaysians.

Jos Nijhuis, president and CEO of the Schiphol Airport Group, said: "We sympathize with the families who have been affected. We will do everything in our power to accommodate and support them as well as possible and support."

The Malaysian ambassador in the Netherlands, Fauziah Mohamad Taib, also was present at the press conference.

"My condolences are especially to the Dutch citizens and also to the other nationalities," she said. "The embassy will be open 24 hours, in case there are questions that you might want to ask."

During the press conference all relatives of the victims were promised help. Gorter said the Malaysia Airlines would try make a plane available for a flight to Kiev.

Live reporting: Malaysian plane downed in Ukraine