China sends its deepest condolences to the victims of the Malaysia Airlines MH17 tragedy and hopes the cause will be found out as soon as possible, said a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman on July 18.

A Boeing 777 of Malaysia Airlines crashed near eastern Ukraine Thursday, killing 298 people on board.

"We are shocked at the crash of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 in the eastern part of Ukraine and express deep condolences to the victims as well as sincere sympathy to their families. We hope that the cause will be found out as soon as possible," spokesman Qin Gang said.

"The Chinese Foreign Ministry and diplomatic and consular missions abroad have activated the emergency response mechanism to establish whether there were Chinese citizens on board. We will closely monitor the situation, stay in close contact with all parties and take corresponding measures," Qin said.

The plane crash has sparked a wave of discussions on Sina Weibo, China’s equivalent of Twitter. A topic named “Malaysia Airlines shot down” has been read by nearly 100 million Chinese as of Friday morning and discussed by 179,000 Weibo users.

Many have lit virtual candles on Weibo to send their condolences to the victims.

The latest tragedy reminds Chinese of the MH370 Malaysia Airlines plane that went missing en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8. The plane carried 227 passengers, including 154 Chinese nationals, and its disappearance remains a mystery.

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)