Six Britons, 23 US citizens and 80 children are reported to be among those killed when a passenger jet crashed over the eastern Ukraine border amid claim and counter-claim that it was shot down.

Pictures and video emerging from the scene show bodies strewn around the site of the crash amid the charred and burning wreckage of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17, which fell down near the town of Grabovo, about 50km from the Russia-Ukraine border.

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This video from YouTube purports to show the moment Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 hit the ground and crashed.

While the cause of the crash has not been determined, US Vice President Joe Biden said the jet was "apparently blown out of the sky" and a U.S. official said that, while its origin was unclear, a surface-to-air missile was probably responsible.