Prince William offers sympathy, calls MH17 crash 'particularly cruel tragedy'

Prince William has joined world leaders in offering his condolences to the families of those who died on MH17 when it was shot down over eastern Ukraine this morning.

The Duke of Cambridge commented on the tragedy while attending a function to unveil a statue of explorer Matthew Flinders at Australia House in London.

“For all of us who have lost fellow countrymen and women in the tragedy, words cannot do justice to our sense of loss,” he said.

“For Australians, and for our Malaysian brothers and sisters in the Commonwealth, the crash is a particularly cruel tragedy coming so soon after the loss of MH370.”

Nine British citizens were also killed in the crash, which claimed the lives of 27 Australians and 298 in total.