Over
300 staff of the Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) gathered at the porch
of Wisma Bernama this morning to observe a minute's silence in honour of the
Malaysian victims of the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 tragedy.
The
Muslim staff also recited the “Al-Fatihah”.
Bernama
general manager Datuk Yong Soo Heong said the news agency's staff were united
in grief for the victims of Flight MH17 that went down in Ukraine on July 17.
"We
are all in dark attire today and have gathered here as we join other Malaysians
across the country to pay our respects to the victims by observing the moment
of silence," he said after the minute's silence was observed at 10.54 am.
Bernama
editor-in-chief Datuk Zulkefli Salleh said: "We extend our heartfelt
condolences to the families and friends of those who were on board the
ill-fated plane by gathering here today."
As a mark of respect, the masthead red colour of
the Bernama website, www.bernama.com, was also changed to black.
Our
Facebook and Twitter accounts equally reflected the sombre mood in black.
The
one-minute silence was observed nationwide today after the remains of 20 of the
43 Malaysians killed in the tragedy were flown home from the Netherlands.
The
Malaysian government had declared today as a day of national mourning.
Flight
MH17 crashed in eastern Ukraine on July 17 as it was flying from Amsterdam to
Kuala Lumpur with 283 passengers and 15 crew on board. The Boeing 777-200
aircraft is believed to have been shot down over the troubled country.
Besides
Malaysians, nationals from the Netherlands, Australia, Indonesia, the United
Kingdom, Germany, Belgium, the Philippines, Canada and New Zealand were among
the 298 people on board.
The
remains of 30 Malaysian victims have been identified so far. All the remains
recovered from the crash site in eastern Ukraine had been taken to the
Netherlands for identification and other procedures.
Dutch
nationals comprised the biggest number of the passengers on board the ill-fated
plane.
--
BERNAMA
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