Lives Cut Short on Malaysia Flight 17: a Beloved Nun, a Leading AIDS Researcher, an International Athlete and 295 Other Victims from around the World

Aimee Herd : Jul 22, 2014
Thom Patterson, Ray Sanchez, AnneClaire Stapleton – CNN.com

"Thinking about those people being knocked out of the sky—it's pretty tough." -former President, Bill Clinton

(Eastern Ukraine)—Family members and friends of the 298 people on board Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 are likely still reeling with the reality of the loss resulting from such a horrible act of terror. (Photo: Sister Philomene Tiernan/via CNN)

The Boeing 777 passenger plane was shot down, last Thursday, by the hands of those yet unknown.

Days later, stories are beginning to surface regarding the victims; just who they were and why they were on board that fateful flight.

According to a CNN report, most of the passengers were Dutch citizens (193), 43 of those on board were from Malaysia, which included the 15 crew members and 2 babies.

There were 27 people from Australia, including 77-year-old Catholic nun—Sister Philomene Tiernan—from an eastern Sydney Catholic girl's school, who was returning from a retreat in France.

Hilary Johnston-Croke, principal of the Kincoppal-Rose Bay, School of the Sacred Heart, wrote in a letter to students there:

"Phil was a very much-loved staff member and friend," she said. "She contributed greatly to our community and she touched the lives of all at KRB in such a positive and meaningful way. (Photo: Karlijn Keijzer/via CNN)

"We are devastated by the loss of such a wonderfully kind, wise and compassionate woman who was greatly loved by us all. She was a great friend and mentor to me personally."

Karlijn Keijzer was just 25 and another passenger on MH17. She was a champion rower from Amsterdam, and was a member of the rowing team at Indiana University in Bloomington, as well as a Chemistry student.

Teammate, Kelly Bainbridge, said of Karlijn, "She was so intelligent and such a hard worker. But rowing was her passion." Calling her rowing technique was "pristine," Kelly added that "if someone was having a tough day, she would give them a pat on the back."

Many of the victims were headed to an International AIDS Conference in Australia, including prominent Dutch scientist Joep Lange—a pioneer in HIV research. (Photo: Joep Lange/via CNN)

Fellow HIV researcher, Trevor Stratton, who had arrived for the conference on an earlier flight, noted what a huge loss the tragedy was.

"What if the cure for AIDS was on that plane? Really? We don't know," he said. "There were some really prominent researchers that have been doing this for a very long time and we're getting close to vaccines and people are talking about cures and the end of AIDS. And you can't help but wonder what kind of expertise was on that plane."

Read about some of the other passengers by Clicking Here.