People On-Board

From the BBC:

"MH17 crash: Passengers on Malaysia Airlines plane in Ukraine"

A prominent Aids researcher, a young family on a journey back to Indonesia and tourists looking forward to holidays in the sun were among those who perished when MH17 crashed in eastern Ukraine.

Here are some of their stories.

- Cor Pan joked on Facebook about his plane disappearing shortly before it took off The Dutch man was off on holiday with his girlfriend Neeljte Tol when he put up a picture of his plane on Facebook - a moment of black humour - with the caption: "If my flight to Malaysia disappears, this is what it looks like" His friends responded by wishing him happy holidays but as news broke of the plane crash their communications on his Facebook page betrayed increasing concern which turned to immense sadness.

 

- Yuli Hastini and John Paulisen and their two young children were on their way to pay their respects at Yuli's mother's grave

Ms Hastini, 44, her Dutch husband, John Paulisen, 47, and their two children: a little boy, Arjuna, 5 and a girl, Sri, 3 would visit her family in her hometown of Solo in Central Java every two years during the Eid holiday.  Her brother-in-law told BBC Indonesian that she worked for a pharmaceutical company in the Netherlands.  But she had been heartbroken that she could not attend her mother's funeral late last year so during this trip the entire family was planning to visit her mother's grave.

 

 

- Australian teacher Francesca Davison and her husband Liam were returning home from a holiday in Europe  Known as Frankie, the 54-year-old teacher is described by the head of the college she taught at as "an inspiration to all who came in contact with her". She taught literature and humanities at Toorak College in Victoria and is described as a "dear friend; warm generous and kind".

- A Malaysia Airlines steward swapped shifts to fly on the ill-fated jet that crashed in rebel-held territory in Ukraine on Thursday It was an extraordinary twist of fate, as his wife, also a flight attendant, had switched from Malaysian jet MH370 which vanished en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on 8 March with 239 passengers on board, according to a report in The Malaysian Insider.  Sanjid Singh lived with his wife and their seven-year-old son in Kuala Lumpur. "He was last here [in Penang] about a month ago. He told us recently that he swapped with a colleague for the return Amsterdam-Kuala Lumpur flight," his father Jijar Singh told the newspaper.

- Joep Lange was among the most eminent of up to 100 Aids researchers and activists travelling to a conference  The 20th International Aids Society conference was set to kick off in Melbourne, Australia. 

Aboard MH17, reports suggest, were up to 100 scientists, communications officers and activists making their way there. Among them was Joep Lange, one of the previous presidents of IAS, described as one of the most brilliant minds in research.  The IAS put a statement out saying that if reports that such numbers were on board were true "this is truly a sad day" and if Joep Lange's death was confirmed "the movement has truly lost a giant".  On Twitter, several colleagues paid tribute to Mr Lange. Dr Seema Yasmin recalled a friend who was devoted to his five daughters and tweeted that: "People like Joep change the course of epidemics." Dr Jeremy Farrar, director of medical research charity the Wellcome Trust said: "Joep was a great clinical scientist, and a great friend of the Wellcome Trust." Mr Lange's partner Jacqueline van Tongeren was also on board with him.

- Glenn Thomas, a former journalist and WHO media relations coordinator, was travelling to the Aids conference. Glenn Thomas has been described as a "wonderful person and a great professional"
He was a media officer for the World Health Organisation in Geneva. Originally from the UK, the 49-year old was one of nine Britons who died in the crash.  He was also a former BBC journalist. Colleagues and friends have paid tribute to Mr Thomas on Twitter describing their horror and devastation.

- Flight Attendant Nur Shazana Mohd Salleh was a happy person who had a feeling this month was special The family of the 31-year-old flight attendant told local media that she died doing the job she loved. "She went through so many interviews to finally land this job," her father is reported as saying, adding she had been with the airline for the last nine years. He said she was single but hoping to get married soon and that she thought this month was special somehow. Her uncle described her, the eldest of four children, as a happy character.

 

- Ninik Yuriani, an Indonesian woman living in Eindhoven, was on her way to celebrate Eid al-Fitr

The 56-year-old, who usually returned to Indonesia three times a year, was heading back to her home town in Central Java.  There she was planning to celebrate the end of Ramadan with her extended family, including her 86-year-old mother.  Colleagues at a restaurant in Eindhoven where she had worked posted a tribute to her online: "Ninik we will miss you, your bright smile and your warm heart. You were an angel on earth, who is now in heaven."

- Among others killed was Willem Witteveen, a Dutch senator. The politician was on the flight with his wife and daughter.

 ^ While the world reacts to this and decides who is responsible and what needs to be done to punish them we first have to remember the nearly 300 people who were on the plane and were killed. ^

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-28360827