Six passengers aboard Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17, which crashed in Ukraine July 17, were confirmed as researchers headed for the 20th International AIDS Conference, which began July 20 in Melbourne, Australia. Two hundred ninety-eight individuals lost their lives in the crash, which has triggered political turmoil between Russia several nations, including the United States
Australian media originally reportedand international media picked up ona larger number of fatalities among individuals planning to be at the conference, with some outlets saying that 108 AIDS researchers, medical workers and activists were killed.
"On board Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17, there were apparently nearly 100 researchers and advocates traveling to an international conference in Australia dedicated to combating AIDS/HIV," said President Obama July 18 in remarks expressing the nation's regrets over the crash. "These were men and women who had dedicated their own lives to saving the lives of others and they were taken from us in a senseless act of violence."
But after confirming the identities of the dead July 19, International AIDS Society ( IAS ) officials said that the original numbers were inaccurate.
"The number that we have confirmed through our contacts with authorities in Australia, in Malaysia, and Dutch authorities as well, is six people," said IAS president Francoise Barré-Sinoussi in the Guardian. "It may be a little bit more, but not the numbers that have been announced."
Among the dead were Joep Lange, an HIV researcher from the Netherlands and a former IAS president. An advocate for improving access to HIV interventions in Africa, Lange was referred to as "the father of AIDS research in developing countries" by a colleague, Jennifer Watt, in Deutsche Welle.
Other fatalities included Glenn Raymond Thomas, a spokesman for the World Health the Organization; Pim de Kuijer of Stop AIDS Now!; Martine de Schutter of AIDS Fonds and Stop AIDS Now!; Jacqueline van Tongeren of AMC Department of Global Health; and Lucie van Mens of the Female Health Company.
On July 20, on the evening prior to the start of the conference, attendees paid tribute to their colleagues.
Michael Kirby, former judge of the High Court of Australia, delivering the conference's Jonathan Mann Memorial Lecture, said that those who'd been lost in the crash would have wanted their work to continue: "This is not a time for silence. They would expect us to pick up our shattered spirits. They would demand that we renew and redouble our efforts." Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott delivered a speech via video as well.
"I think it was a touching opening ceremony," Craig McClure, UNICEF's top HIV/AIDS advocate, said in the Guardian. "I think for most of us, we're still in a state of shock."
In a July 17 statement, Human Rights Campaign officials said, "HRC wishes to extend our condolences to the friends and families of everyone aboard Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17. We are deeply saddened to learn about the deaths of the many HIV/AIDS advocates believed to be on the plane. HRC joins the international community in mourning the loss of all those who lost their lives today, including such dedicated health professionals. They will be sorely missed."