THIS Grimsby family feels "lucky to be alive" after taking a Malaysia Airways flight across Ukrainian airspace just hours before an aircraft was allegedly shot down over the country, killing 295 people.
Emma Smith and her daughters Danielle Sharp, 22, and Mollie Smith, 18, touched down in Heathrow on their return flight from Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday.
The following day, a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 was allegedly shot down close to the Ukrainian border with Russia after being hit by a surface-to-air missile, as reported on www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk
Emma, 41, from Grimsby, said: "I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the crash on the news.
"It's horrible to think that some of the cabin crew who were on our flight could have been on the return leg to Kuala Lumpur.
"We're all devastated by what has happened to the passengers and crew and our thoughts are with the families of those who have been killed.
"It's terrifying to think that something like this can happen.
"We were watching the plane's route on the screens during the flight and we went over the exact area where the crash happened."
It is thought all passengers and crew on the flight were killed, and 15 Britons are believed to have been on board.
It comes just four months after Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 – carrying 239 people – was lost in the southern Indian Ocean.
Emma and her daughters flew out to New Zealand via Kuala Lumpar on July 5. They were heading to Queenstown after Danielle, who is a glamour model, was invited to stay with entrepreneur Kim Dotcom, who she has recently shot a music video for.
Emma added: "We all had a brilliant time and we didn't even think about the fact we were flying with Malaysia Airlines until one of Danielle's friends asked us if we were scared.
"We thought it was unlikely that anything else would happen to the same airline after the plane went missing in March.
"They always say flying is the safest form of travel."
The trio left New Zealand for Kuala Lumpar on Monday and departed for home on Wednesday.
Emma added: "We had awful turbulence on the way home and it was quite frightening at times.
"Drinks were flying everywhere and the cabin crew were told to go to their seats twice. They also took all our food and drink off us.
"We were just relieved to get home to Grimsby on Wednesday night.
"It's so sad to think what happened to all those people who were just flying like us. It really freaked us out when we found out."
Flight MH17 was travelling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when radar contact was lost over territory near Donetsk which is held by pro-Russian rebels.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko issued a robust denial that his forces were involved while pro-Russian rebels also denied shooting down the plane and blamed the Ukrainian Air Force.
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