The US confirms the Malaysian plane was shot down by a surface-to-air missile.

US officials said on July 17 that Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, carrying 295 passengers, was shot down over Ukraine by a surface-to-air missile, but it is unclear who fired the missile.

A Ukrainian separatist militiaman stands at the scene of the ill-fated Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 crash on July 17. (Photo: Reuters)

An unnamed U.S. official said that U.S. intelligence analysts are "convinced" that a surface-to-air missile shot down MH17 and are reviewing data to determine whether the missile was fired by pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine, Russian troops along the border, or Ukrainian government forces.

Bernama news agency reported that Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak was shocked by the news of the Malaysia Airlines plane crash and is immediately launching an investigation into the report.

Malaysia Airlines confirmed that the Boeing 777 carrying 280 passengers and a crew of 15 was en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.

The airline stated that air traffic control lost contact with MH17 at 2:15 PM GMT, approximately 50km from the Russian-Ukrainian border.

According to VNA