Airport police stand guard at the arrival hall at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, in Sepang, Malaysia, Friday, July 18, 2014. Malaysia Airlines said it lost contact with Flight MH17 over Ukrainian airspace Thursday. It was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. AP FILE PHOTO
UNITED NATIONS 鈥� The U.N. Security Council has approved a statement calling for 鈥渁 full, thorough and independent international investigation鈥� of a downed Malaysian Airlines plane in eastern Ukraine.
The press statement expresses the council鈥檚 鈥渄eepest sympathies and condolences to the families of the victims, and to the people and governments of all those killed in the crash.鈥�
Council members stood in a moment of silent tribute to the 298 victims at the start of an emergency council meeting Friday morning.
The council called for an investigation 鈥渋n accordance with international civil aviation guidelines and for appropriate accountability.鈥�
It stressed the need for 鈥渋mmediate access by investigators to the crash site to determine the cause of the incident.鈥�
The jetliner was shot down Thursday as it flew high above separatist-held territory.