SYDNEY, July 18 – Some of the world’s top AIDS experts bound for the 20th International AIDS Conference in Melbourne were among those killed in Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 crash, the International AIDS Society (IAS) said Friday.
IAS said in a statement on its website that the loss of so many lives was a deep tragedy, Xinhua news agency reported. “IAS expresses its sincere sadness at receiving news that a number of colleagues and friends en route to attend the International AIDS Conference in Melbourne were on board the MH17 flight that crashed over Ukraine,” it said.
“At this incredibly sad and sensitive time the IAS stands with our international family and sends condolences to the loved ones of those who have
been lost to this tragedy.” It is believed that former president of International AIDS Society, Joep Lange, was among those killed.
Lange had been involved in HIV treatment and research for more than 30 years, working for the World Health Organisation. He was founder of not-for-profit PharmAccess Foundation which aims to improve access to health care in Africa.
Former U.S. president Bill Clinton and singer and activist Sir Bob Geldof are among the high-profile speakers attending the AIDS Conference which will start on Sunday.
Flight MH17 with 280 passengers and 15 crew on board travelling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was reported to have crashed over Ukraine near the
Russian border on Thursday. All those on board the flight are believed to have perished.
-BERNAMA
