Breaking: Malaysian Airliner Reportedly Shot Down in Eastern Ukraine

Reports are saying that a Malaysian flight, carrying 295 passengers, has crashed in the eastern part of the Ukraine, near the Russian border. Reports are indicating that the plane was hit by a missile. Malaysian Airlines confirmed that they had lost contact with flight MH17 over Ukrainian airspace. The flight originated from Amsterdam, bound for Kuala Lampur

From the Associated Press

Anton Gerashenko, an adviser to Ukraine's interior minister, said on his Facebook page the plane was flying at an altitude of 10,000 meters (33,000 feet) when it was hit by a missile fired from a Buk launcher. A similar launcher was seen by Associated Press journalists near the eastern Ukrainian town of Snizhne earlier Thursday. The Buk missile system can fire missiles up to an altitude of 22,000 meters (72,000 feet).