Malaysian Airlines MH17 -- who were the HIV/AIDS researchers killed in the crash?

After the disastrous Malaysian flight MH17 crash, some reports mentioned that 100 delegates heading to the International AIDS conference were on the plane. However, the reports have been denied by the AIDS officials.

International AIDS Society president Francoise Barre-Sinoussi on Saturday said six colleagues heading for a global conference in Melbourne were on a Malaysian plane that crashed over Ukraine, not 100 as reports suggested.

'The number that we have confirmed through our contacts with authorities in Australia, in Malaysia and Dutch authorities as well is six people.' 'It may be a little bit more, but not the numbers that have been announced,' she said. Here are a few names of delegates that have been identified.

• Pim de Kuijer ^[1]was a prominent writer and political activitst who worked for the organisation Stop Aids Now. He contributed greatly opposition of drug use and prostitution.
• Lucie van Mens ^[2], from the AIDS Action Europe, reportedly contributed to HIV/AIDS prevention since 1995. She was the director for program development at the Female Health Company.
• Maria Adriana de Schutter, , was also from the AIDS Action Europe.
• Joep Lange^[3], 59 years old, was a leading clinical researcher from the Netherlands. He had more than 30 years of experience in field of HIV and authored 350 research papers. He was also the past president of the International Aids Society.
• Jacqueline van Tongeren ^[3] from the Amsterdam Institute of Global Health and Development was Joep's colleague. She worked with him in his efforts with HIV/AIDS and also involved in global health work.
• Glenn Thomas^[3], 49 years old, was the co-ordinator of media relations for the World Health Organisation (WHO)

With inputs from AFP

You may also like to read:

• 9 factors that increase your risk for HIV
• 12 HIV/AIDS symptoms that you need to watch out for
• 12 diseases that affect people with HIV/AIDS
• HIV/AIDS causes, symptoms, treatments
• HIV and AIDS in India
• HIV diagnosis 5 tests to detect a recent HIV infection

For more articles on HIV/AIDS , visit our diseases & conditions section. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for all the latest updates! For daily free health tips, sign up for our newsletter. And to join discussions on health topics of your choice, visit our forum.