Reports of the Malaysian passenger plane suspected of being shot down by air-to-surface missiles over the Ukraine and Russian border, first began to appear on social media Thursday.
People first posted wreckage of the downed Boeing 777 carrying 280 passengers and 15 crew members who departed from Amsterdam en route to Kuala Lumpur.
Graphic images of twisted metal, scorched earth, scattered luggage and maimed bodies began to appear on Twitter and various other social media sites.
Here is my picture of Malaysia Airlines 9M-MRD taking off from Schiphol today. My thoughts are with pax and crew. pic.twitter.com/zuILsQCzy6
— Tom Warners (@SchipholSpot) July 17, 2014
A pro Russian separatist posted on a Russian social media site that his rebels had shot down a cargo plane, and moments later, images of the wreckage of Flight MH17 began to appear.
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Dramatic Photos: Malaysia Airlines plane crashes in Ukraine http://t.co/Jc2ItwI6Br pic.twitter.com/1UkagttrH9
— NBC Los Angeles (@NBCLA) July 17, 2014
The post has since been removed and any involvement in the attack denied by the separatist.