Downed jet 'did not make distress call'

Malaysia’s prime minister says the downed passenger jet did not make any distress call before it crashed, and that the flight route was declared safe by the International Civil Aviation Organization.

Prime Minister Najib Razak said although Ukrainian authorities believe the Boeing 777 was shot down, he was unable to verify “the cause of this tragedy but we must, and we will, find out precisely what happened to this flight”.

Meanwhile Russian President Vladimir Putin says Ukraine bears responsibility for the crash of a Malaysian airliner.

Mr Putin laid the blame for the crash on Ukraine.

A Kremlin statement said Mr Putin opened a meeting with his economic advisers by calling for a moment of silence over the crash.

Then, he said, “This tragedy would not have happened if there were peace on this land, if the military actions had not been renewed in south-east Ukraine. And, certainly, the state over whose territory this occurred bears responsibility for this awful tragedy.”