Friday, July 18, 2014
MELBOURNE, Australia (AFP) - As many as 100 of those killed on a Malaysia Airlines plane that crashed in Ukraine were delegates heading to Australia for a global AIDS conference, unconfirmed reports said Friday.
The Australian broadsheet and the Sydney Morning Heraldboth said that more than one-third of the nearly 300 who died were AIDS researchers, health workers and activists en route to Melbourne.
The Herald said those attending a pre-conference meeting in Sydney were told that around 100 of their colleagues were on the plane that went down, including former International AIDS Society president Joep Lange.
The Australian reported that delegates to the 20th International AIDS Conference in Melbourne, which is due to begin on Sunday, were to be informed that 108 of their colleagues and family members died on MH17.
Source: AFP