Delegates at a global AIDS conference vowed on Saturday to renew efforts to end the deadly disease in honour of the commitment of colleagues killed when a Malaysian Airlines plane came down over Ukraine.
The Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 was en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it was apparently brought down by a surface-to-air missile on Thursday in an area of eastern Ukraine where Moscow-backed rebels have been fighting government forces.
At least six people on the flight, including Joep Lange, a leading light in the field of AIDS research, were heading to the AIDS 2014 Conference in Melbourne, according to the International AIDS Society (IAS) which organizes the event.
The number was much lower than earlier feared, with some initial reports indicating as many as 100 delegates had lost their lives on the flight.
Lange’s partner, Jacqueline van Tongeren, who worked for the Amsterdam Institute for Global Health and Development, was also killed along with two members of the AIDS Action Europe organization, a campaigner for STOP AIDS NOW! and Glenn Thomas, a spokesman for the World Health Organisation.
“This is a moment of deep sadness for the world,” IAS President Francoise Barre-Sinoussi told reporters outside the convention center where the conference is due to open on Sunday.
“The extent of our loss is hard to comprehend and express. Our colleagues were travelling because of their dedication to bringing an end to AIDS. We will honour their commitment and keep them in our hearts as we begin our program on Sunday.”
