17 July
SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX 5) — About 100 of the passengers on the Malaysia Airlines flight that was shot down over the Ukraine on Thursday were reportedly AIDS scientists and researchers heading to Australia for a conference.
World Health Organization spokesperson Glenn Thomas was also among the victims.
The International AIDS Conference is taking place in Melbourne this weekend, organized by the International AIDS Society, who released a statement following the crash.
“The International AIDS Society (IAS) today expresses its sincere sadness at receiving the news that a number of colleagues and friends en route to attend the 20th International AIDS Conference taking place in Melbourne, Australia, were on board the Malaysian Airlines MH17 flight that has crashed over Ukraine earlier today. 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.”
“Today, we apparently lost 100 of our best and brightest,” Cleve Jones, co-founder of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, told KPIX 5 Thursday night. “It’s just heartbreaking. We’re a family.”
