Singer Hattan's cousin among MH17 crash victims

The cousin and another relative of well-known singer Datuk Mohd Shukri Sahabuddin, better known as Hattan, were among the victims of the MH17 air crash in Ukraine.

He said his cousin, Dora Shahila Kassim was on duty as a crew member of the Malaysia Airlines aircraft when the tragic incident happened.

Met by reporters after a briefing for family members and relatives of the Malaysian victims at a hotel here Friday, Hattan said he was shocked to learn about the ill-fated Boeing-777 aircraft through Whatsapp from his wife, Arianie Mohd. Abidin.

"My wife is an ex-cabin crew, and some of her friends notified her via SMS and Whatsapp (about the crash).

"Then I obtained confirmation from the Internet and news reports. My wife and I were so shocked that we didn't know what to say," he said.

Hattan said also among the victims in the air crash was another relative Sherliza Zaini, 45, who was on the flight together with her husband and their three children.

He said they were going to Melbourne, Australia after a transit in Kuala Lumpur.

MH17 with 283 passengers and 15 crew was on its way from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it crashed in Ukraine.

It left Amsterdam at 12.15pm (local time) on Thursday and was expected to arrive at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), Sepang at 6.10am today.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak early today said Ukrainian authorities believed the plane was shot down.