Tragedy struck them twice

An Australian family has been struck by both Malaysia Airlines tragedies, losing two members of their extended family in the MH17 crash four months after another couple went missing on MH370.

Maree and Albert Rizk, who were returning to Melbourne after a month-long holiday in Europe, died Thursday when MH17 came down in eastern Ukraine, Australian media reported.

Maree's father is married to a member of a Queensland family which lost husband and wife Rodney and Mary Burrows on MH370 when it disappeared en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, Rodney's brother Greg Burrows told AFP.

"It's just ripped our guts again," Burrows told reporters. 

Burrows said he did not want to make a statement on behalf of the Rizk family, but said: "We've got             no ill feelings with Malaysia Airlines."

"Nobody could predict this one and nothing's been proven on the first one, so there's nothing there.

"We are still waiting for answers on the first one."

Rodney and Mary Burrows were returning from a holiday abroad with friends when they boarded MH370 in March.

"They were beautiful people and we loved them dearly. Hopefully it was quick for them," a neighbour, who did not want to be named, told reporters at the time.

No trace has ever been found of MH370 which is thought to have crashed into the southern Indian Ocean.

They were among 298 victims of the apparent missile attack, almost two thirds of whom were Dutch nationals, with Malaysians and Australians the next most numerous. Among the dead were a series of leading researchers into HIV/Aids, holidaying families, a member of the Dutch senate, football supporters, teachers, a nun and a relative of Malayia's prime minister, Najib  Razak.

While the exact details remain uncertain, the latest figures indicate that those killed in the disaster included 189 Dutch nationals, 44 people from Malaysia – including 15 crew members and two infants – the 27 Australians, 12 people from Indonesia – including one infant – nine Britons, four people from Germany and Belgium, three Philippines nationals and one person each from Canada, Hong Kong and New Zealand. The origin of the remaining victims has yet to be determined.

Among the Dutch nationals               on the flight was Joep Lange, a pioneering Aids researcher, who is reported to have died along with his wife, Jacqueline van Tongeren. The couple reportedly had five daughters.

Some accounts say dozens of those on MH17 were on their way to Melbourne in Australia for the 20th International Aids conference, which starts on Sunday.

Denis Napthine, the premier of Victoria state, of which Melbourne is the capital, said: "There's been confirmed a number of senior people who were coming out here who were researchers, who were medical scientists, doctors, people who've been at the forefront of dealing with Aids across the world."