Parents who lost three young children and their grandfather when Flight MH17 was shot down by pro-Putin rebels revealed that they now "live in a hell beyond hell." The Maslin family's emotional comments came in what they called "a message to the soldiers in the Ukraine, the politicians, the media, our friends and family" that was released Wednesday. Mo, 12, Evie, 10, and Otis, 8, were flying home to Australia with their 68-year-old grandfather Nick Norris from a vacation in Europe after their parents Anthony Maslin and Marite Norris stayed on in the Netherlands a few days longer.
"Our pain is intense and relentless. We live in a hell beyond hell," the statement added. "Our babies are not here with us - we need to live with this act of horror, every day and every moment for the rest of our lives. No one deserves what we are going through." There were 27 Australians among the 298 people aboard the Boeing 777 that was hit by a surface-to-air missile over eastern Ukraine on Thursday. Its black boxes have arrived in the U.K. on Wednesday for analysis and some victims' remains were flown to the Netherlands.
IN-DEPTH
- Heading Home: First MH17 Victims Are Flown Out of Ukraine
- Russia Still Helping Pro-Putin Rebels: U.S. Official
- Jet Wreckage Hacked Into With Saws, Monitors Say
