‘A grim day for Australia, a grim day for the world’

A MELBOURNE real estate agent and his wife, and a popular Perth sailor and his grandchildren are among the Australian victims of flight MH17.

A MELBOURNE couple, a Sydney Catholic nun and a popular Perth sailor and his grandchildren were among the 28 Australians who died when Malaysian flight MH17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine over night, killing everyone on board.

Nine Victorians, nine Queenslanders, seven West Australians and one person each from NSW and the ACT have been confirmed to be on the doomed flight.

The Boeing 777 travelling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was carrying 298 people when it was downed by a surface to air missile, believed to be fired by pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott said the world should be “filled with revulsion” at the tragedy.

“This is a grim day for our country and it’s a grim day for our world,’’ he said.

Mr Abbott said Australia would observe a national day of mourning and asked that all Australian flags be flown at half-mast on Commonwealth buildings here and overseas tomorrow as a mark of respect to the Australians who lost their lives.

Real estate agent Albert Rizk and his wife Marie were returning from a month long holiday in Europe on the doomed airliner, according to Jack Ogilvie, a friend of the couple.

Toowoomba pathologist Roger Guard and his wife Jill were the first Queenslanders confirmed to be on flight MH17, while Perth grandfather Nick Norris and his three grandchildren also perished.

Canberra mother-of-two Liliane Derden, 50, from Hall in Canberra’s north, was on board.

She worked for the National Health and Medical Research Council whose staff expressed deep sadness at the loss of a valued colleague and friend.

Award-winning novelist Liam Davison and his wife Frankie, who was a teacher at Toorak College, were on the doomed plane.

The pair had two children.

Mr Davison wrote occasional reviews for The Australian, was awarded the National Book Council’s Banjo Award for Fiction in 1993, and had been shortlisted for other literary prizes including the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award. His novels included The Velodrome, Soundings and The White Woman.

Toorak College confirmed the loss of Frankie and Liam Davison in a Facebook statement on this afternoon. “We are devastated by the news of this tragedy. Our heartfelt sympathy and prayers are with Frankie’s family and friends.”

Sister Philomena Tiernan, a “much loved” teacher at the Catholic school Kincoppal-Rose Bay in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs, was returning from a retreat in France.

Hilary Johnston-Croke, the school principal, wrote to parents confirming the loss of her wise and compassionate” colleague.

“We are devastated by the loss of such a wonderfully kind, wise and compassionate woman who was greatly loved by us all,” she wrote.

“This has come as an enormous shock to me and our school community as I am sure it will to all of you.” Mrs Johnston-Croke described Sister Philomene as her mentor. “Phil was a very much loved staff member and friend,” she said. “She contributed greatly to our community and she touched the lives of all at KRB in such a positive and meaningful way.”

Year 3 to Year 12 students from the school were informed of her death on Friday with a group of the children performing a liturgy for their teacher.

Anthony Cleary, director of religious education at the NSW Catholic Education Office, said Sister Philomene would be missed by members of her congregation.

“I have found her to be a woman of tremendous integrity and intelligence,” he said

“She was very insightful, had a great grasp of the pastoral needs of the church.”

Monsignor Tony Doherty, the parish priest at Rose Bay’s St Mary Magdalene Catholic Church who has known Sister Philomene for about 30 years, told the ABC: “She’s an incredibly gentle personality - one of those blithe gentle spirits that you never just touch without coming back a bit enriched. Her contact with the young women at Kincoppal was powerful.”

Last night, Malcolm Turnbull posted a tribute to Sister Philomena on Twitter. “Many women incl my wife Lucy & daughter Daisy were inspired by the love of Sr Phil Tiernan RSCJ. God bless her & all who died in MH17,” he wrote.

Queensland Premier Campbell Newman confirmed that nine Queenslanders had also lost their lives in the tragedy.

“Like all Queenslanders I was shocked, outraged, dismayed and deeply saddened. While this terrible tragedy has occurred on the other side of the world, it feels very much at home,” Mr Newman said.

“Communities right across Queensland are likely to be affected and impacted by this tragedy.”

Dr Guard, the director of pathology at Toowoomba hospital, and his wife were reportedly returning to Australia after attending a medical conference and holidaying overseas.

Toowoomba mayor Paul Antonio said the loss would be felt throughout the Darling Downs region.

“Dr Guard was one of the best. He was an outstanding doctor and was well known as a great member of the community,” Mr Antonio said.

“I’m saddened by the loss of him and his wife and my thoughts go out to their family.” Queensland Health director-general Ian Maynard said Dr Guard was a highly regarded and respected pathologist who had worked for the department since 1970.

“Dr Guard’s dedication, professionalism and strength of character meant his colleagues held him in the highest of regard,” he said in a statement.

Dr Guard oversaw laboratories in the Warwick, Dalby, Roma, Charleville and Longreach districts. He had also worked in Cairns and assisted the Queensland Coroner.

In Melbourne Jack Ogilvie, a friend of the Rizks told 3AW that their community in the west Melbourne suburb of Sunbury was in shock at losing “just terrific people.”

The couple, who have two children, have lived Sunbury for many years, where Mr Rizk worked as a real estate agent, and where both husband and wife were committed to the local community.

The couple were actively involved in the Sunbury Football Club, where Albert was on the committee and Marie worked in the canteen on game day, Mr Ogilvie said.

One of Mr Rizk’s colleagues confirmed the couple’s family had been contacted by officials to notify them of their deaths.

Workers at real estate agent Raine and Horne, where Mr Rizk was a director, said they believed the couple was on the flight.

Nick Norris, a popular member of the South Perth Yacht Club, died with his three grandchildren Mo, Otis and Evie. The children's parents, Mr Norris’ daughter Rin, a make up artistry teacher and her husband Anthony, were not on the flight.

A sailing club friend told Fairfax radio: “These things sort of happen overseas and you don’t sort of think much more of it and then all of a sudden, you get a little message in your inbox that says this guy was on the plane.

“It hits home.” He said Mr Norris, the managing director of management consulting firm Collaborative Systemic Change Pty Ltd, was friendly, chatty and a very keen sailor. “He was just a lovely bloke.

“He’ll be missed.”

According to Mr Norris’ profile on his company’s website, he conducted facilitator training in Australia and the UK, and had previously held senior executive positions in education and defence.

Melbourne University student Elaine Teoh and her boyfriend, Dutch National Emiel Mahler were travelling to a wedding in Malaysia, according to friends..

The pair, both 27, lived in Melbourne where they worked in the finance sector. Ms Teoh was originally from Penang in Malaysia but had lived in Melbourne for some times.

Ms Teoh’s employer, IG Australia, said in a statement that both she and Mr Mahler, who used to work at the company, were beloved members of their community.

“Our thoughts and prayers are currently with their loved ones,” the statement said.

“Both were beloved members of our close IG community and were valued members of our team. We are deeply saddened by this news.”

Mr Mahler worked at IG Australia until December when he joined Vanguard Australia.

A spokeswoman for the investment company said news Mr Mahler was among those on the flight was a shock to all.

“We’re extremely saddened by Emiel’s sudden passing,” she told AAP.

“Our thoughts are with Emiel’s family and his friends at this time.”

The government has assigned a Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade officer to each of the families affected by the crash.

Eleven other consular representatives are also being dispatched to the Ukrainian capital Kiev, while a specialist Australian Federal Police officer is en route to Ukraine to discuss how Australia can assist.

A hotline set-up for concerned relatives has so far received more than 900 calls.

West Australian premier Colin Barnett confirmed that seven West Australians were on the flight and said: “I was horrified and deeply shocked to hear about the crash.”

In Queensland, Mr Newman said he had spoken to Prime Minister Tony Abbott and to Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, who said it was believed nine Queenslanders had lost their lives.

“The numbers I stress may change, they may be higher,” Mr Newman said.

“My thoughts and prayers are with all Queenslanders who have been touched by this tragedy. And there will be many people from this state ... who have lost loved ones,” Mr Newman said.

“I think the impacts will stretch far across our state.”

With tears in his eyes, Mr Newman added that he felt personally close to the tragedy after both his daughters flew similar routes recently. One daughter, Rebecca, flew with Malaysia Airlines from Malaysia to Amsterdamin March, while his other daughter Sarah landed back in Australia yesterday after flying the same route over Ukraine with Thai Airways.

“People of my age have kids that travel to and from Europe, it’s a rite of passage,” Mr Newman said. “All parents would be thinking of their kids now, if they’re overseas. It brings it home to you. The shock, the tragedy of the whole thing.”

“My own children have gone through this part of the world in recent times.”

Mr Newman said he, like many parents today, was thinking about his children and their safety.

Asked whether he would rescind Vladimir Putin’s invitation to Brisbane’s G20, Mr Newman said: “I really can’t get into that today. Today it’s about Queenslanders.”

He said the government would reach out to those people affected and that no need would be left unfulfilled.

Among the victims were scores of delegates who were travelling to Melbourne for the

International Aids Conference that was to officially begin tomorrow.

“Unfortunately, I can now confirm that a number of Victorians are among those who have been killed, although we are not yet in a position to say how many,’’ said Victorian Premier Denis Napthine in a statement. He added that a number of permanent residents travelling on foreign passports were also on board the plane.

“This is a sad and tragic day, not just for Victorians, but for all people and all nations. The shooting down of a passenger aircraft full of innocent civilians is an unspeakable act that will forever leave a dark stain on our history,” he said.

Dr Napthine said that, as hosts of the International Aids conference, his office had offered to provide assistance to any delegates who required support.

Earlier, Mr Abbott said the government owed it to families of the victims to find out exactly what had happened.

“We can’t restore them to life but we can and will do everything to support them in this sad and bitter time because that is the Australian way,” he said.

“We owe it to the families of the dead to find out exactly what has happened and exactly who is responsible.”

A national commemorative service will be held at a future date, when the families of those who have died have had time to “comprehend” the tragedy.

There will be a national day of mourning at this time, where flags will again be flown at half-mast.

Mr Abbott said he and the Governor-General Peter Cosgrove would attend a church service at St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney on Sunday, “as we stand together a nation at this difficult time”.

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade officials have now spoken to the next of kin of all 27 Australians.

Meanwhile, an Adelaide couple who were booked the flight say they are lucky to be alive after changing their flights at the last minute.

Simone La Posta said she and her husband were booked to fly from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on flight MH17 but instead decided to leave a day earlier.

“We originally had our itinerary to be on that flight but then we changed it thinking we’d be too jet-lagged for work on Monday,” she told ABC radio.

”It’s a bit surreal to think that one day later and I wouldn’t be here talking with you right now.”

The couple were on standby for the earlier flight because of overbooking and only narrowly caught the plane.

“We were on standby and we only found out literally a minute before the boarding closed that we were actually going to be leaving that day,’’ Ms La Posta said.

She said that airline staff appeared to have no knowledge of what had happened.

“I’ve got some really close girlfriends in Holland who messaged me while I was in the air, so I don’t know how soon after takeoff it happened, but from what we could see the Malaysian Airlines staff didn’t know anything,” she said.

“They did not seem to have the slightest clue, we actually mentioned it to one flight attendant and she seemed genuinely shocked.

“We did the Facebook update as we were sitting on the tarmac to let people know we would be okay.”

A New Zealander was also counting himself lucky after narrowly avoiding being forced to fly on the doomed flight.

Mike Bullot had competed in a regatta in Germany on June 25 and had a reservation on an earlier Malaysia Airlines flight but when he arrived at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport on Wednesday to check in, he was told it had been overbooked. The airline told Bullot that he would be placed on standby and if a seat didn’t become available, he could catch the next day’s flight to Kuala Lumpur — the one that crashed.

Bullot, who is married to NZ MasterChef winner Chelsea Winter, said he felt lucky he didn’t take the ill-fated flight, but added that he was just one of 20 to 30 people waiting at the gate to see if they could board their flight.

“Too many what-ifs to think about right now,” he wrote on Facebook.

“Wondering how many of those behind me in line were pushed back a day ...”

Meanwhile, an Adelaide couple who were booked the flight also say they are lucky to be alive after changing their flights at the last minute.

Simone La Posta said she and her husband were booked to fly from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on flight MH17 but instead decided to leave a day earlier.

“We originally had our itinerary to be on that flight but then we changed it thinking we’d be too jet-lagged for work on Monday,” she told ABC radio.

”It’s a bit surreal to think that one day later and I wouldn’t be here talking with you right now.”

The couple were also on standby for the earlier flight because of overbooking and only narrowly caught the plane.

“We were on standby and we only found out literally a minute before the boarding closed that we were actually going to be leaving that day,’’ Ms La Posta said.

Additional reporting; Paige Taylor, Michael Owen, wires

THE AUSTRALIAN TOLL STATE BY STATE

Queensland 9

NSW 1

Victoria 9

West Australia 7

ACT 1

South Australia 0

Tasmania 0