KUALA LUMPUR, October 11- The remains of another Malaysian citizen who perished in the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 tragedy in Ukraine on July 17, have been identified.According to the transport ministry, she was Shaliza Zaini Dewa.The 45-year-old victim 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 enroute from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.
Shaliza Zaini died in the tragedy with husband, Hans van den Hende and their children – Australians Piers, 15, Marnix, 12 and Margaux van den Hende, eight.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 today, 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 MH17.
“During this difficult time, the families of the passengers and crew of MH17 remain foremost on our minds,” he said.Commenting on news reports over an oxygen mask which was found around a victim’s neck, Liow said further verification was needed from a Malaysian team in the Netherlands as investigations were being conducted by the Dutch authorities.
“Undue speculation on the implications behind the oxygen mask should not be made until investigators have thoroughly concluded their inspection of the crash site,” he noted.He said the victims’ families should be prioritised when it involved the release of information pertaining to the crash by the investigating authorities.
– BERNAMA
