Mother, 2 kids on board crashed MH17—DFA

Ukrainian rescuers walk past debris at the crash site of a passenger plane near the village of Hrabove, Ukraine, Thursday, July 17, 2014. Ukraine said a passenger plane was shot down Thursday as it flew over the country, and both the government and the pro-Russia separatists fighting in the region denied any responsibility for downing the plane. (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky)

MANILA, Philippines — The three Filipino fatalities in the plane crash in Ukraine were a mother and her two children, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Friday.

The three victims are Irene Gunawan, 54 and her daughter Sherryl Shania Gunawan, 20, and son Darryl Dwight Gunawan, 15, said spokesman Charles Jose.

Jose said they were releasing the names of the victims following Malaysian Airlines’ notification of their next of kin.

Previously, DFA said that the family have passports with addresses in the Netherlands.

It however still remains unclear where the family was traveling to when they boarded the flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.

“We are not sure if Kuala Lumpur was the transit of their destination or elsewhere,” Jose said.

Jose said they were ready to extend assistance to the relatives of the Filipinos, including the repatriation of their remains.

Flight MH17 was headed for Kuala Lumpur from Amsterdam when it crashed after flying over Ukrainian airspace.
 

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