Did Americans die in MH17 crash? State Department investigates agency report 23 US citizens were aboard flight shot down over Ukraine

Reuters cited a source in Ukraine that put the number of Americans who died on the doomed Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur flight at 23

However, no United States officials could verify that any Americans were on board

Now Department of State must determine if any Americans perished when a surface-to-air missile knocked the Boeing 777 back to Earth



Fears that Americans were aboard doomed Malaysia Airlines flight 17 lingered into Thursday evening as the nationalities of 41 of the 298 dead remained unverified.

The nation gasped earlier in the day when a widely shared Reuters story cited sources that put the number of Americans aboard at 23, but state authorities in the U.S. did not confirm any of those casualties.

Now the Department of State must cut through the fog of confusion and misinformation to determine if any Americans perished when a surface-to-air missile knocked the Boeing 777 back to Earth.

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American victims? John Kerry's State Department has found that none of the MH17 passengers checked in with U.S. passports

Hours after the plane exploded over eastern Ukraine, the Department of State could do little to put American minds at ease.

At nearly 8pm Eastern, the agency's press office said:



'At this point we do not have any confirmed information about casualties. We offer our condolences to the families and loved ones of all those affected by this tragedy.



'We are closely monitoring the situation and are seeking additional information. The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv is in close contact with Ukrainian authorities on this incident.'

As the evening wore on it appeared that no news could be seen as good news.

The White House issued a statement confirming that they are still seeking information 'to determine whether they were any American citizens on board'.

And as this search continues, pro-Russian separatists who control the area where the Malaysia Airlines flight was brought have announced they will allow FBI and NTSB officials access to the area in an 'advisory role'.



Many press reports, however, used Reuters' citing of a source inside Ukraine to put the number of American deaths at 23.

Debris: Smoke rises up at the plane's crash site near the village of Grabovo, Ukraine on Thursday afternoon after the Boeing 777 was shot down, killing all 298 onboard

Accounting for the dead: While Reuters early on cited a source that put the number of Americans dead at 23, that figure was not verified by any United States officials. However, many Netherlands nationals perished on their way to Kuala Lumpur. Here, people lay flowers in front of the Embassy of the Netherlands in Kiev Thursday

Reuters continued to keep that number on their website while noting: 'U.S. President Barack Obama said it was unclear whether Americans were aboard.'



Meanwhile, other nations were certain they could begin to grieve the loss of their own.

As of Thursday evening, Malaysia Airlines said victims hailed from the Netherlands, Malaysia, Australia, Indonesia, United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium, Philippines, and Canada.

All told, 257 victims' nation of origin had been verified with 41 still unknown.