TORONTO – A Malaysian passenger plane carrying 295 people was shot down Thursday over a town in the east of the country, according to a Ukrainian official.
Malaysia’s defence minister hasn’t yet confirmed it was an attack.
Malaysia Airlines said on its Twitter feed that it lost contact with the plane. “The last known position was over Ukrainian airspace. More details to follow,” it said.
READ MORE: Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 shot down, crashes in Ukraine, says minister
Here’s a look at some other cases of airliner shoot-down incidents:
Korean Airlines Flight 902
When: April 20, 1978
Travelling to/from: Paris to Seoul
What happened: The plane diverted from its planned course and strayed over the Soviet Union. After being fired upon by an interceptor aircraft, the crew made a forced landing at night on the surface of a frozen lake.
Fatalities: Two of the 97 passengers were killed by the hostile fire.
INFOGRAPHIC: A look at some planes that were shot down
Korean Air Lines Flight 007
When: Sept. 1, 1983
Travelling to/from: New York City, U.S., to Seoul, South Korea via Anchorage
What happened: The airliner was shot down near Moneron Island, west of Sakhalin Island, in the East Sea by a Soviet Su-15 fighter jet. Reports say the aircraft was en route from Anchorage, Alaska to South Korea when it flew off course and through prohibited Soviet airspace, causing the Russian fighter jet to shoot down the airliner.
Fatalities: 269 passengers were killed. The majority of those on board were South Koreans, 61 were American and 28 were Japanese citizens. U.S. Representative Lawrence McDonald was among the deceased.
Iran Air Flight 655
When: July 3, 1988
Travelling to/from: Tehran, Iran to Dubai, United Arab Emirates
What happened: The civilian plane was shot down by the United States Navy guided missile cruiser USS Vincennes after it was reportedly mistaken for an F-14 fighter.
Fatalities: 290 passengers, including 66 children were killed. Among the dead were citizens of Iran, the United Arab Emirates, India, Pakistan, Yugoslavia and Italy.
Aerolinee Itavia Flight 870
When: June 27, 1980
Travelling to/from: Bologna, Italy to Palermo, Italy
What happened: In January 2013, Italy’s top criminal court ruled there was “abundantly” clear evidence that a stray missile caused an Italian passenger jet to crash into the Mediterranean Sea.
What caused the crash has been one of Italy’s enduring mysteries.
Some theorized a bomb exploded. Others contended the jet was caught in the crossfire of a military aerial dogfight, with a Libyan plane possibly the target. French, U.S. and NATO officials have denied military activity in the skies that night.
Fatalities: 77 passengers and four crew members were killed.
Siberia Airlines Flight 1812
When: Oct. 4, 2001
Travelling to/from: Tel Aviv, Israel to Novosibirsk, Russia
What happened: The plane, carrying an estimated 66 passengers and crew members, crashed over the Black Sea while Ukraine defence forces were reportedly conducting an exercise near the coast.
The missiles that were fired had missed the drone they were targeting. The missile is said to have exploded over the jet, resulting in enough damage for it to crash into the sea.
An agreement signed in November 2003 said Ukraine was not legally responsible for the accident that occurred and was free of any obligations regarding it.
Fatalities: All those on board were killed.
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