#MH17 : 43rd Malaysian Victim Identified

KUALA LUMPUR: The remains of another Malaysian citizen who perished in the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 tragedy in Ukraine on July 17 has been identified.

According to the Transport Ministry, the victim was identified as Shaliza Zaini Dewa.

The 45-year-old was one of the 298 people on board the Boeing 777-200 aircraft who were killed when it was shot down in eastern Ukraine while en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.

Shaliza Zaini died alongside her husband, Hans van den Hende, and their children — Piers, 15, Marnix, 12 and Margaux van den Hende, 8.

They were returning from a holiday in Amsterdam to spend Hari Raya Aidilfitri with their relatives in Kajang, Selangor, before returning to Melbourne, when the aircraft was downed.

In a statement yesterday, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said to date, the remains of 43 Malaysians had been identified out of a total of 44 citizens on board the doomed flight.

“During this difficult time, the families of the passengers and crew of MH17 remain foremost on our minds,” he said.

Commenting on news reports that an oxygen mask had been found around the neck of one of the aircraft’s victims, Liow said further verification was needed from the Malaysian team in the Netherlands.

“Undue speculation on the implications behind the oxygen mask should not be made until investigators have concluded their inspection of the crash site.”

He said the victims’ families should be prioritised when it involved the release of information pertaining to the crash by the investigating authorities. - Bernama