A Dutch passenger posted this image of Malaysia Airlines MH17 to his Facebook page before he boarded the plane.
Cor Pan, who was heading to Kuala Lumpur on vacation with his girlfriend Neeltje Tol, paused on the sky bridge to take this photo of the doomed plane. The caption reads, “If it disappears, this is what it looks like.”
As the reality of the tragedy set in, Pan’s Facebook friends expressed their grief and shared the post thousands of times.
One comment from a friend reads “Enjoy your holiday man.” Another FB user wrote “Rest in peace, cousin.”
MH17 was shot down over the Ukraine earlier today. 295 passengers and crew on board were killed.
23 Americans and 9 Brits were among the passengers on board MH17 when it was shot down.
Malaysia Airlines confirmed it lost contact with the Boeing 777 jet as it flew over the Ukraine from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.
Reporters at the scene were encouraged to take pictures of the bodies that lay scattered in a wheat field.
CAUTION: Graphic photos after the break!
