Pioneering AIDS doctors, Newcastle United fans, children on their holidays and a Catholic nun. The tragic victims of downed Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 are being increasingly identified as they are mourned by family, friends, and colleagues.

The passenger jet was travelling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur at an altitude of 33,000ft (10,000m) when contact was lost yesterday afternoon and it crashed near the border with Russia in Eastern Ukraine. The 298 people on board are all believed to be dead.

On Friday morning, it emerged that among the 283 passengers and 15 crew on board were nine Britons, 173 Dutch, 44 Malaysians, 27 Australians, 12 Indonesians, four Germans, four Belgians, three Filipinos, one Canadian and one New Zealander.

The plane was shot down in an "act of terrorism", Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko has said, while both pro-Russian rebels and the Ukrainian government have denied shooting the aircraft down.

US authorities said intelligence analysis showed the plane had been hit by a surface-to-air missile, killing all crew and passengers, including three Australian children, aged between eight and 12, who were travelling with their grandfather.

Mo, Evie and Otis Maslin

Amidst the tragic stories emerging, it has been revealed as many as 100 of the world's most eminent AIDS researchers and experts may have been on the downed plane, heading to a United Nations AIDS conference in Melbourne.

One of the British victims was 49-year-old Glenn Thomas, a media officer at the World Health Organisation who previously worked as a journalist for the BBC and was described as a "wonderful person and a great professional".

As tributes were paid to Mr Thomas today, WHO spokesman Fadela Chaib said: "For the time being we would like to give his family time to grieve. We have lost a wonderful person and a great professional. Our hearts are broken. We are all in shock."

Three infants are among the dead, and up to 80 children are feared dead. The nationalities of 20 passengers have yet to be verified.

Newcastle United football fans John Alder and Liam Sweeney are believed to have been on their way to watch their beloved team's pre-season tour of New Zealand.

Liam Sweeney

Mr Alder, who was in his 60s was apparently known to other fans as The Undertaker because of his tradition of wearing a suit to every game and was known for his mullet-style haircut.

He is thought only to have missed a single match since he started attending in 1973, and follows the team around the world for their away games.

A Catholic nun from Sydney was also on board the flight. Sister Philomena Tiernan, was a “much loved” teacher at the Catholic school Kincoppal-Rose Bay in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs, and 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, The Australian reported.

One young Dutch man posted an Instagram image of his plane tickets and wrote about his excitement in heading overseas before boarding the doomed flight.

Instagram user Regis Crolla a picture of his ticket with the phrase "I'm so excited" before boarding the Boeing 777. He also wrote the words "AMS -> Kuala Lumpur -> Bali". The tickets visible in a photo showed he would travel from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur and then on to Denpasar on MH17.

In one especially tragic twist, it has been reported that an Australian woman whose brother and sister-in-law died when Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 vanished in March has lost her stepdaughter and stepdaughter’s husband, who were aboard the second Malaysia Airlines flight that crashed in Ukraine.

Kaylene Mann, of Brisbane, was too distraught to speak publicly on Friday and requested privacy to deal with her latest loss. Mrs Mann was the sister of Rod Burrows, who died along with his wife Mary on Flight MH370, which disappeared over the southern Indian Ocean on March 8.

Mrs Mann’s stepdaughter, Marie Rizk and her stepdaughter’s husband, Albert Rizk, a Melbourne real estate agent, were returning from a month-long holiday in Europe, on board Malaysia Airlines flight MH17. Incredibly, the couple were reportedly not even meant to be on the doomed plane, having missed their earlier flight.

As the magnitude of the horror is clarified, here we remember the victims of those on board:

• Mo, Evie and Otis Maslin
  
  Mo (12), Evie (10) and Otis Maslin (8) were on their way back to Perth with their grandfather, local businessman Nick Norris, after a family holiday in Amsterdam.
• Nick Norris
  
  Mo, Evie and Otis Maslin's grandfather.
• Glenn Thomas from Blackpool
  
  Glenn Thomas was a media officer at the World Health Organisation who was described as a "wonderful person and a great professional".
• Elaine Teoh and her long-time boyfriend Emiel Mahler, both died on flight MH17.
  
  Elaine Teoh, 27, was from Penang, in Malaysia, but lived in Melbourne, where she was a student, according to her Facebook page. Dutch national Emiel Mahler, Elaine’s boyfriend, was also a victim who lived in Melbourne.
• Sydney Catholic nun and teacher Sister Philomene Tiernan
  
  Monsignor Tony Doherty, parish priest at Rose Bay, knew Sister Philomene for 30 years. "The first thing you think about her is an incredibly gentle personality ... one of those blithe gentle spirits that you never touch without coming away a little bit enriched," he told Richard Glover on 702 ABC Sydney.
• Joep Lange
  
  Joep Lange was a leading clinical researcher from the Netherlands, and a former president of the International AIDS Society. "How do we measure how much a person has done for humanity? People like Joep change the course of epidemics," a friend tweeted.
• Albert and Maree Rizk
  
  Sunbury couple Albert and Marie Rizk were due to return home today after spending a month holidaying in Europe. It has been reported the couple were not scheduled to be on the doomed MH17 but boarded after missing an earlier flight.
• Regis Crolla
  
  Regis Crolla posted an image on Instagram before his flight, with the comment "AMS --> Kuala Lumpur --> Bali."
• Regis Crolla's flight details, which he posted on Instagram
  
   
• Pilot Eugene Choo Jin Leong
  
   
• Pim de Kuijer
  
  Pim de Kuijer was Dutch and a parliamentary lobbyist for Stop Aids Now! He died on his way to an Aids conference in Melbourne, a journey "which typified his concern for others," his friend wrote for The Guardian.
• Flight steward Sanjid Singh
  
   
• Shazana Salleh
  
  Shazana Salleh was also reportedly a flight attendant on board the flight.
• Pathologist Roger Guard
  
  Roger Guard was travelling with his wife, Jill. The pair, from Queensland, have been remembered for their "lifetime of service" to their community.
• GP Jill Guard
  
   
• Gerry and Mary Menke
  
  Australians Mary and Gerry Menke were on their way home from a holiday when they boarded the flight. They are among 10 Victorians confirmed dead in the crash.
• Helena Sidelik
  
  Helena Sidelik was on her way home after travelling to Amsterdam for a friend’s wedding.
• Martine de Schutter
  
  Martine de Schutter worked for AIDS Action Europe,
• Liliane Derden
  
  Canberra resident and mother-of-two Liliane Derden, 50
• Azrina Binti Yakob
  
   
• Angeline Premila
  
   
• Liliane Derden
  
   
• Frankie and Liam Davison
  
   
• Cor Pan (left) and his partner Neeltje Tol
  
   

SEE ALSO:

• ‘We did warn you - do not fly in our sky’: Social media Boast Of Separatists As Transcript Records 'Moment Rebels Realised Shocking Error'

• ‘British Family Reveal Shock After Narrowly Missing Doomed Flight MH17

• Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 'Shot Down In Ukraine Near Russian Border'

• MH17 Flight Crash: Shock And Tributes From Family And Friends

• 'Attack' On MH17 Is Grim Reminder Of Korean Flight 007

• MH17 Passenger Apparently Took Extraordinary Photo As He Boarded
• Who Could Have Shot Down Plane?
• Crash Sends Gold Price Soaring In Market Shock
• Crash Site Revealed In First Graphic Pictures
• Ukrainian Airspace Could Be Closed

• Pressure On Putin Over His Support For Pro-Russian Separatists
• Shocking Video Shows Smoke Rising Above MH17 Crash Site

Flight MH17 was said by eyewitnesses to have "exploded" after it was reportedly shot down by a ground-to-air missile.

In a statement released this morning, Malaysia Airlines said: "With immediate effect, all European flights operated by Malaysia Airlines will be taking alternative routes avoiding the usual route.

Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, which was on a scheduled flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur went down in eastern Ukraine. Malaysia Airlines confirms that the aircraft did not make a distress call.

"The usual flight route was earlier declared safe by the International Civil Aviation Organisation. International Air Transportation Association has stated that the airspace the aircraft was traversing was not subject to restrictions.