Barack Obama offers help for Malaysia Airlines crash in Ukraine as world leaders react

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After a Malaysia Airlines jet carrying 295 people crashed in eastern Ukraine on Thursday, officials scrambled to offer condolences and to figure out who was aboard the plane.

In the United States, President Barack Obama said the nation's top priority was to determine whether American citizens were on board. Obama said the crash "looks like it may be a terrible tragedy" and offered his thoughts and prayers to families of the victims, "wherever they call home".

"The United States will offer any assistance we can to help determine what happened and why," he said in brief comments before delivering a speech at the Port of Wilmington in Delaware.

The European Union expressed shock about the crash and urged an "immediate and thorough investigation."

US President Barack Obama offered any assistance possible.Credit: AP

"The facts and responsibilities need to be established as quickly as possible," said the statement from European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and European Council President Herman Van Rompuy.

US allies in Europe responded cautiously to news about crash and called for an independent review.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has worked closely with Obama on sanctioning Russia for its Ukraine policies, refrained from placing blame, while saying in a statement that if reports the plane was shot down prove true it would be a "tragic escalation" in the conflict.

Mr Manuel and the president of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, said in a joint statement they were "shocked" by the crash. They called for "an immediate and thorough investigation" into the cause.

French President Francois Hollande, speaking in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, said it's essential that the "truth be established."

The office of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko mentioned the possibility that the plane had been attacked, claiming that pro-Russia rebels have shot down a number of aircraft in recent days over the territory they claim to control. The office expressed confidence "that those responsible for this tragedy will be brought to justice".

Ukraine set up an emergency commission to investigate the crash and said Poroshenko invited the International Civil Aviation Organization and other international experts to participate.

The plane had taken off from Amsterdam and was heading to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, when it went down.

"President Petro Poroshenko expresses the deepest and the most sincere condolences to families and friends of those who died in this terrible tragedy," his office said.

Ukrainian Interior Ministry adviser Anton Gerashchenko said the plane was hit by a rocket fired from a Buk anti-aircraft system, which he said had been provided to the rebels by Russia.

Ukrainian officials have accused the Kremlin of supporting the separatist rebellion, an accusation Moscow denies.

Russia said its president, Vladimir Putin, asked Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak "to convey his deepest sympathy and support" to the families of those aboard the Malaysia Airlines jet.

Members of the US Congress said they were waiting for more information.

"It's too soon to draw any conclusions," Democratic Senator Ron Wyden said after a briefing from administration officials. "I'm not going to speculate about who is responsible. But finding out is extremely important."

Senator Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat who heads the Intelligence panel, said after the briefing that while it would be concerning if pro-Russian separatists were involved, it is "too soon to make any conclusions."

Los Angeles Times, with Bloomberg