News
Six MH17 passengers were bound for Melbourne AIDS conference
- Herald Sun
- July 19, 2014
Evie Norris (left) and Otis
Norris (center, low) with their brother Mo Norris (right) and father
Anthony Maslin (center, back). Anthony remained in Europe and did not
accompany them on the flight. Picture: Facebook
UPDATE: ORGANISERS for the Melbourne International AIDS conference
have confirmed six researchers and advocates were on board MH17 flight.
It was initially feared that more than 100 of the 298 passengers were bound for the Melbourne conference.International AIDS Society executive directors Owen Ryan said the conference would go on as planned.
“Our colleagues were travelling because of their dedication to bringing an end to AIDS,” Mr Ryan said.
“We will honour their commitment and keep them in our hearts as we begin our program on Sunday.”
ROLLING UPDATES: Blame game as world watches Russia
FOOTAGE EMERGES: Is this the rocket launcher that downed MH17
LOCALS GRIEVE: The Victorian victims
‘AWFUL’: Bill Clinton ‘sickened’ by AIDS experts’ deaths
BEFORE TAKEOFF: Inside MH17
MORE: World’s top researchers perish
AIRLINE RESPONSE: MH17 ‘was on right flight path’
VICTIMS: Real lives behind the name
Tributes are planned for the opening night of the conference, which starts tomorrow, involving about 14,000 delegates.
Among the dead was prominent Dutch researcher Joep Lange, who has worked in AIDS research and treatment since 1983 and making ground-breaking contributions to the development of affordable treatments.
His wife, Jacqualine van Tongeren, communications director at Amsterdam Institute for Global Health and Development, was also on board.
Dr Lucie van Mens, who has worked on AIDS prevention for 20 years, Dutch lobbyist Pim de Kujer, World Health Organisation spokesman Glenn Thomas, and the former executive director of AIDS Action Europe Martine de Schutter also died.
EARLIER: A MELBOURNE man who flew into Kuala Lumpur airport hours after the MH17 disaster has described the anxiety and confusion as news of the tragedy unfolded.
It’s understood Basil Zoccali’s Malaysia Airlines flight from Paris was a few hours behind MH17, travelling the same path to Kuala Lumpur.
“Nothing was said when we got off the plane,” the 20-year-old said.
“In the airport it was a ghost town, it was quiet, all the TVs were turned off.
“There was one TV turned on but a movie was being played.
“The mood was very sombre.”
He said it wasn’t until another passenger told him her connecting flight to Melbourne was delayed that they knew something was wrong.
“Then everyone’s phones started going off,” he said.
Hours earlier, Mr Zoccali posted from Paris that he and his girlfriend were leaving on a Malaysia Airlines flight to Kuala Lumpur.
When he arrived, he quickly assured friends and family they were safe and had not been on the ill-fated flight.
“Our family experienced it for five or 10 minutes but that would be nothing compared to what these people’s families would be going through,” he said.
“It’s just devastating.”
EARLIER: THE tragic loss of “good people” who dedicated their lives to finding a cure for HIV will inspire their colleagues to redouble their own efforts, Health Minister David Davis says.
Mr Davis said the number of perished passengers on board doomed flight MH17 that were headed to the 20th International Aids Conference is expected to be confirmed within the next few hours.
“I think that out of great wrong, good should come,” he said during a sombre opening address of the International Aids Society’s 2014 ‘Towards an HIV Cure’ symposium in Melbourne.
“And the best good that can come is to focus on a cure, to focus on the way forward.
“I think this is what we all want and I think that those that have been impacted and their families would want that too.”
His comments came as family and friends this morning paid tribute to three Victorians killed in the air disaster.
Mr Davis paid tribute to the tireless efforts of the deceased advocates, researchers and those whose long-term goal was to find a cure.
“I think these were good people, these were people dedicated to the future of humanity,” Mr Davis said.
“These were people whose focus and being - their whole energies - was focused on finding a way forward to prevent human suffering, to prevent human mystery.”
“The world has been robbed of some people whose enormous contribution will be hard to replace, but at the same time I know many at this conference will redouble their efforts in honour of those people,”
International Aids Society president Francçoise Barré-Sinoussi also acknowledged the treat loss of friends, colleagues and researchers - including prominent Dutch HIV researcher and professor of medicine Joep Lange and his wife Jacqueline van Tongeren, who were among the 298 who perished.
“Joep was not only a great researcher, a great champion of the fight against HIV for many years, but he was also a wonderful human being,” Professor Barré-Sinoussi said.
“He was strongly believing that a cure for HIV was possible, as we all do.”
She said Dr Lange and the other deceased advocates would encourage their colleagues to continue the search for a cure, the best tribute of all.
FAMILIES TORN APART
THE world was their playground; three adventurous spirits who toured the globe.
From Dubrovnik to Penang, Mo, Evie and Otis Maslin crammed a lifetime of travel into their tender years, bouncing from one exciting holiday to the next.
But the Perth siblings would never return from their latest European escapade; their blissful little lives stripped away by evil.
After spending a few weeks on a family holiday in Europe the trio waved goodbye to their parents Rin Norris and Anthony Maslin in Amsterdam and boarded a plane with their grandad Nick Norris, who was returning from a stint working in London.
Leaving mum and dad for a few more days in Europe holiday, the kids (Mo 12, Evie 10, Otis 8) had to get back to school.
The family’s quadruple loss counts as the cruellest of blows to any family grieving loved ones who were on MH17.
Ms Norris’ brother Brack Norris was stunned and disbelieving when he heard the news.
“They were the most incredible kids, well beyond their years in many aspects. We will miss them all so terribly,’’ he said.
Ten Victorians on MH17
Through tears, he praised his dad as a model father and keen sailor.
“He was a fantastic man," he said.
Brack and Rin’s sister Natalia Gemmell, said paid tribute to her nephews and niece.
“[They were] just gentle, clever, beautiful kids.”
She also revealed she managed to tell him she loved him just before he left for Amsterdam.
“In my mind he was a very great man; he has been a Lieutenant Colonel in the Army Reserves; he’s been a headmaster; he’s been a consultant with Indigenous people with education and he has done his bit to change his part of the world.”
“I spoke to him just before he caught the plane to find out when he was leaving and told him I loved him and told him I’d see him when he got back.”
Mr Norris was married to Lindy Norris and was managing director of change management group, Collaborative Systemic Change.
Sunbury couple Albert and Marie Rizk.
Families throughout Australia have been left reeling in loss and grief for loved ones who were on board the Malaysian Airlines 777-200 when it was blown out of the sky above war-torn Ukraine.
It comes as passengers of a plane that should have been carrying some of the MH17 victims touched down in Melbourne.
Many who perished in the Ukraine crash were due to fly into Melbourne tonight on Malaysia Airlines flight MH126, a connecting flight Kuala Lumpur.
Victims Albert and Marie Rizk, of Sunbury, were travelling home from a month-long holiday with friends in Europe, and even tried to change their flight to avoid a lengthy stopover in Kuala Lumpur.
Their son, James, could still play football in Ballarat today for the Sunbury Lions despite only learning the tragic news yesterday.
Other Victorians not to make it home were Gerry and Mary Menke, Melbourne University student Elaine Teoh and her boyfriend Emil Mahler, Liam and Franke Davison, and Marci Grippeling.
Melbourne couple Elaine Teoh and
Emiel Mahler were travelling to a wedding in Malaysia when killed aboard
Malaysia Airlines flight MH17.
THE world’s best hopes of curing AIDS were dealt a blow when MH17 was shot down.
Among the holiday-makers were brilliant scientists and medical researchers on their way to the 20th International AIDS conference, starting in Melbourne on Sunday.
Before takeoff some passengers had taken to social media sites, posting pictures of their tickets on the flight; others had sent photos to friends bragging of their business class upgrades.
When tragedy struck, those photos proved devastating confirmation to family and friends of their worst fears.
Among the 298 dead was prominent Dutch researcher Joep Lange, a pioneer in HIV research since the early ’80s.
He was the former president of the International Aids Society and his work included preventing HIV transmission from mother to child.
Other notable delegates who died were Dr Lucie van Mens, who since 1995 has focused on HIV and AIDS prevention, and the World Health Organisation’s Glenn Thomas.
leading AIDS researcher Joep Lange has been described as a “god-like” figure in his field.
AMA Victoria president Dr Tony Bartone said those who died had “courageously and persistently” crusaded against HIV.
“This act of terror will be felt around the world, as no country is immune from HIV and we desperately need international researchers to eradicate this virus,” Dr Bartone said.
“It is with sincere gratitude that we pay respect to these researchers and acknowledge the groundbreaking work that they have done.”
In a statement, the International AIDS Society said the tragedy and the loss of life “is a truly sad day”.
It also paid respect to Mr Lange and lamented the impact of his loss.
“HIV/AIDS movement has truly lost a giant.”
Conference co-chair Professor Sharon Lewin, who knew Prof Joep Lange and campaigner Ms van Tongeren well, described Prof Lange as a “god-like figure” to the international HIV response.
“I know Joep and Jacqueline well and I know they would want the conference to go on and we will pay tribute to their great contributions by the contributions and legacy that will result from AIDS 2014,” Professor Lewin said.
UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibe said he had spoken to Professor Lange about the conference just days before.
“He said: you know, Melbourne should be an important moment for all of us. Michel, you should never miss your opportunity to transform Melbourne as the moment of the beginning of the journey of ending aids. And I think we should remember that, that he was the one who was fighting everyday to make us believe that it’s possible, it’s possible to end aids,” Mr Sidibe said.
Dr Napthine has ordered all flags on all government buildings to be flown at half mast today and for the duration of the conference.
He confirmed there were up to 100 people on the flight who were en route to Melbourne for the AIDS conference.
“Tragically there are some very, very significant people who’ve done a great lot in their lifetime in terms of AIDS research ... who have lost their lives in this unspeakable tragedy.”
Dr Napthine said he would still attend functions at the conference and would strongly support the event.
“It’s time for all people to use this terrible tragedy to invoke the spirit of the people who were travelling to the conference.”
RESEARCHER’S AIDS DEDICATION
Kirby Institute director Professor David Cooper said Dr Lange was a close colleague and friend who together established the HVNAT research centre in Bangkok that would now be his legacy.
“Joep had an absolute commitment to HIV treatment and care in Asia and Africa,” Prof Cooper said.
Premier Denis Napthine, Co-Chair of
AIDS 2014 Prof Sharon Lewin, Melbourne Lord Mayor Robert Doyle,
Victorian Minister for Health David Davis and YEAH CEO Alischa Ross
observe silence at the opening of an AIDS conference in Melbourne on
Friday night. Picture: Mark Dadswell
Accomplished South African rescue helicopter pilot Cameron Dalziel was also on board.
Shortly before take-off, Mr Dalziel sent a picture of his plane ticket to a fellow rescue pilot, said close friend Neil Noble.
”He was boasting about how he had been bumped up to business class and was going to have a fantastic flight. That’s how we knew he was on board.”
Mr Noble, lead paramedic for Team Australia EMS based in Queensland, said Mr Dalziel, 43, was a husband and father of two boys.
“In his time in South Africa he flew literally thousands of rescue missions with flight paramedics. He flew right across Africa, to Mozambique, Angola and in and around civil war-torn countries.”
He had also trained rescue pilots and was based in Malaysia but had been planning to move to Cairns.
“The irony is he worked in some of the most hostile regions in the world — Afghanistan and Iraq during the wars. He was a very accomplished and respected pilot.”
He would be a great loss, Mr Noble said.
Dutchman Regis Crolla posted a picture of his ticket on Instagram, writing “I’m so excited” before boarding the flight.
The five-day AIDS conference in Melbourne will hear from world-leading researchers and other high-profile speakers including former US president Bill Clinton and Sir Bob Geldof.
SAFE PASSENGERS’ HEARTBREAK
Passengers who boarded a Melbourne-bound flight that many of those killed on MH17 were supposed to be on said they felt sorrow for the victims of the attack.
Scores of people who perished in the tragedy were due to fly into Melbourne last night on Malaysia Airlines flight MH126, a connecting flight Kuala Lumpur.
Greenvale man Ray Windlow said he heard about the rocket attack in which almost 300 were murdered as he left for the airport yesterday morning.
“I couldn’t believe it. I had to ring my wife and say, ‘before you turn on the television, this just happened’,” Mr Windlow said.
“I felt a bit teary. I thought it was so unjust.”
He said he expected to board a half-empty jet but the flight was delayed for three hours to wait for passengers coming from Paris.
Mr Windlow said AIDS conference delegates on the flight were excited about coming to Australia but also struck by the loss of their colleagues.
Melbourne resident Jo Stevens said she had spoken to staff on the flight whose colleagues had been killed.
“They said they had close buddies on the flight,” Ms Stevens said.
She said they acted professionally under the heart wrenching circumstances.
“They were amazing. You wouldn’t have known there was a problem.”
Many people on the connecting flight were unaware of the tragedy and passengers said nothing of the deaths was said by airport staff or over the intercom.
The captain of the flight declined to comment.
Counsellors and support staff are available at Melbourne Airport and a number have been sent to the Malaysian Airlines offices in Melbourne to help staff working in the office.
TRAVELLERS’ FEARS
Fear gripped passengers jetting out of Melbourne as news spread of flight MH17.
Some passengers flying overseas lied to concerned friends and family about their flight paths to put loved ones at ease.
“My family is really concerned, I’m trying to play it down a bit,” Rita Ottenwill said.
“Whoever is flying out today will have that in the back of their head.”
At least four emergency counsellors watched over passengers as they checked in for the 2.30pm Malaysia Airlines flight to Kuala Lumpur.
The counsellors, from the Victorian Council of Churches Emergencies Ministry, were seen liaising with federal police and Malaysia Airlines staff at the check in gate.
One man, who did not want to be named, appeared distraught as he lined up with his family to check in to their Malaysian Airlines flight home to Dublin.
“It’s just a travesty,” he said.
Despite the tragedy, those flying with Malaysia Airlines who spoke to the Herald Sun said they would travel with the airline again.
“We chose Malaysia Airlines after the (MH370) flight went missing,” Thehan Samarasena said.
“It was cheap.”
But for others, news of flight MH17 confirmed why they would not fly with the airline.
“We made sure our flight wasn’t with Malaysia Airlines,” said Jenny Lilja, who was heading off on a trip to Paris 20 years in the making.
“I heard it as soon as I woke up this morning, it was shocking,” she said.
“My manager is in Russia at the moment with his wife and child, I’m really worried.
“You just think of the families (of those who died).
* The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has set up a hotline for concerned Australian relatives. Phone 1300 555 135
Do you know anybody on the flight? Contact the Herald Sun newsdesk on (03) 9292 1226
end quote from:
Six MH17 passengers were bound for Melbourne AIDS conference
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