Sections
Log in
Top News
U.S. News World News Featured Voices
Odd News
Entertainment
Movies Music TV
Sports
Soccer NFL NBA MLB NHL Golf Horse Racing Tennis Col. Football Col. Basketball
Photos
News Entertainment Sports Features Archives
More...
Defense Featured Science Health Archive Almanac
About Feedback
About Feedback
Search
Trending
Haiti
SeaWorld rescue
Bernie Sanders
Karl Lagerfeld
Super moon
National emergency
Winter storm
Children slain
Shin Lim
EPA
Smurfs
World News
July 17, 2017 / 4:03 PM

MH17 memorial unveiled on third anniversary

"Our loved ones together went on a journey on July 17, 2014, and this memorial forest symbolically unites them again," said Evert van Zijtveld, whose two teenage children died in the crash.

By
Danielle Haynes
People visit a National Monument for the victims of the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 plane crash, during an opening ceremony for the memorial in Vijfhuizen, the Netherlands, on Monday. The ribbon of trees is designed by landscape architect Robbert de Koning. Photo by Frank van Beek/EPA

July 17 (UPI) -- Family members of the 298 people who died when Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 crashed in Ukraine gathered Monday to unveil a memorial for the victims in the Netherlands.

More than 2,000 friends and family members, including Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima, attended the ceremony in Vijfhuizen park, near Schiphol Airport where the Boeing 777 departed July 17, 2014.

MH17 was shot down by a Russian-made Buk missile and crashed into a field in separatist-held territory in the Donetsk region in Ukraine. All 298 passengers and crew died in the crash. The plane, which held passengers and crew of 17 different nationalities, was headed to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The memorial includes 298 trees -- one planted for each victim in the shape of a green ribbon. Surrounding the trees is a field of sunflowers that will bloom in July, the month of the crash.

RELATED On This Day: Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 shot down

The victims' names has been engraved on a statue in the shape of an eye pointed skywards. Each of the names were read aloud during the memorial.

"Our loved ones together went on a journey on July 17, 2014, and this memorial forest symbolically unites them again," said Evert van Zijtveld, whose two teenage children died in the crash.

He said the family members "shall not give up and shall not be silenced until those who are responsible have been brought to justice."

RELATED Malaysia Airlines MH17 case to be prosecuted in Netherlands

So far, no one was been arrested for shooting down the plane, though a Dutch-led investigation team has identified 100 people of interest. The plane was shot down amid a war between the Ukrainian government and Russian-backed separatists, which has killed more than 10,000 people.

Investigators determined the missile had been brought to Ukraine from Russia and then smuggled back to Russia after the plane crash.

Ukrainian President Pedro Poroshenko on Monday posted a tweet saying "We bow our heads before the 298 innocent victims whose heartbeats were stopped by a Russian missile three years ago."

RELATED UPI Archives: Report: MH17 hit by high-energy objects, broke apart midflight

RELATED UPI Archives: Vladimir Putin: Tribunal on Malaysia Flight 17 crash 'counterproductive'
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for more UPI news and photos.

Trending Stories

16 people rescued from SeaWorld ride
Cuba refuses U.S. cruise ship
Trump: Maduro supporters 'risking their lives, Venezuela's future'
5 Americans arrested in Haiti during violent protests
Winter storm to bring snow, ice, rain to 60 percent of U.S.

Photo Gallery

 
Denny Hamlin wins NASCAR's Daytona 500

Latest News

'The Newsroom': Aaron Sorkin shuts down reboot rumors
Rabbit does 20 tricks in 1 minute for Guinness record
Former Arizona basketball coach Lute Olson hospitalized after stroke
Politicians in Japan 'embarrassed' by Trump's Nobel Peace Prize claims
Ozzy Osbourne cancels tour dates due to pneumonia
 
Back to Article
/
Back to top
About UPI Contact Feedback Advertisements Submit News Tips
Copyright © 2019 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Terms of UsePrivacy Policy