In what's being called a tragic twist of fate, an Australian woman who lost her brother when Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappeared in March was told Friday her stepdaughter was on board MH17 that was shot down in Ukraine.
According to The Times, Kaylene Mann was too upset to speak to the media Friday. She has requested privacy.
But Mann's brother told reporters this latest Malaysia Airlines tragedy is bringing everything back for their family. The Guardian quotes him as saying, "It's just ripped our guts again." (Via The Guardian)
The Sydney Morning Herald reports Mann's stepdaughter, Maree Rizk, and her husband Albert were among the 298 people on board Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 when it went down in eastern Ukraine Thursday.
One of Albert Rizk's colleagues told the Hume Leader the couple were returning home from a four-week vacation in Europe.
They tried to get on a different flight Thursday to avoid a long layover in Kuala Lumpur, but were unsuccessful. "Obviously the family’s quite devastated... He was a beautiful person, as was his wife... They were a very loving couple."
Mann lost her brother Rodd Burrows and his wife, Mary, a little more than four months ago when Flight MH370 disappeared over the southern Indian Ocean on March 8. They left behind three adult children. (Via Brisbane Times)
Mann sat at her nephew Jayden Burrows' side as he tearfully read a statement to the media shortly after the plane vanished.
According to The Australian, Maree and Albert Rizk were among 28 Australians on flight MH17 when it was shot down by a surface-to-air missile.
Malaysia Airlines officials lost contact with the plane on Thursday morning.
