Mum Finds Out Daughter, Family Were on MH17 from CNN

USPA NEWS - A mother today said she had been watching news channel CNN when she discovered that her daughter's flight had been shot down over the Ukraine. Datin Siti Dina said her daughter Sherleeza Zaini, her Dutch husband and their three children were on board MH17.

"They were on their way back to Melbourne, where they live, and were expected to transit in Malaysia," Siti said at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport this morning. "I was at home watching CNN last night when I saw the reports of MH17 being shot down." MH17 was reportedly shot down by a surface-to-air missile. There were 298 people on board, including three infants. Siti revealed that her three grandchildren were all teenagers but did not elaborate further. She said her daughter had informed her that she was on the flight back from Amsterdam bound for Kuala Lumpur. Siti was then ushered by security personnel into Anjung Tinjau (Viewing Area) which has been set up as a temporary waiting area.

"They had gone to the Netherlands to visit her husband's relatives and family members," she added. Another passenger, Ninik Yuriani, 56, an Indonesian-born Dutch citizen, was travelling to visit her 86-year-old mother in Central Java´s small town of Wonosobo to celebrate Hari Raya later this month, her younger sister told the Wall Street Journal this morning. “She sent me messages through WhatsApp few days ago asking me to pick her up at the airport in Jakarta at 9.15am today. We had planned to go by car to Wonosobo on Monday,“ she was quoted as saying. Yuriani, the fifth child of eight, moved to the Netherlands 17 years ago with her only daughter, Nuraheni said.