UPDATE: A family of five living in an outer-Melbourne suburb, a Melbourne-based Dutch national living in Windsor and a Glen Iris couple who migrated to Australia about 40 years ago have emerged as the latest victims of the flight MH17 disaster.
While the official number of Victorians killed in the crash is 10, the Prime Minister’s Office confirmed on Saturday afternoon that eight permanent residents from Victoria were also killed, taking the state total to 18.
Premier Denis Napthine confirmed 10 Australian nationals from Victoria and eight permanent residents from Victoria had been killed.
“It is understood that there were other passengers who were permanent residents of Australia who were travelling on passports from their countries of origin,” he said.
“It is with deep regret that I can now confirm that a further eight Victorian residents were among those have been killed in the MH17 tragedy.”
Malaysian-born woman Shaliza Zain Dewa, 45, and her Dutch-born husband Johannes van den Hende had been on holiday in Amsterdam with their children Piers, Marnix and Margaux, aged 15, 12 and 8.
The family lived in Eynesbury, about 34 kilometres west of Hoppers Crossing.
A family friend said they had moved to Melbourne about seven years ago from Kuala Lumpur and lived in Caroline Springs before moving to Eynesbury about three years ago.
They had been on month-long holiday in the Netherlands and were on their way back to Australia, the friend said.
Piers, the eldest child, played soccer with Melton Phoenix Football Club’s under 15 team.
Club president, Steve Williamson, said the club community was devastated by the loss.
“They were great people, really nice people, a nice family and down to earth,” he said.
“It’s unbelievable… the mood (at the club) is very solemn.”
Mr Williamson said the club had canceled an under-15s game scheduled for tomorrow out of respect for the family.
Marnix, 12, was a swimmer with the Melton Swimming Club, and had broken his personal best record for the 50 metres butterfly as recently as March 29, according to the club’s website.
The children attended Bacchus Marsh Grammar.
Margaux, the youngest child, was a member of a local dance group.
Ms Dewa’s mother Datin Siti Dina was at Kula Lumpur airport, where the family were supposed to change planes for the final leg of their journey, and told local newspaper The Star she had contacted Mr Van Den Hende’s family.
“My friend and I watched the news on CNN as soon as I received the call,” she said. “I called up my son-in-law’s family immediately.”
A vigil will be held to remember the family at the Eynesbury Homestead at 4pm on Sunday.
Dutch national Itamar Avnon who was living in Windsor has been confirmed among the dead.
The 27-year-old had been visiting family in Amsterdam after attending a wedding in Israel.
Friend Raph Freedman, who served with Mr Avnon in the Israeli Defence Forces from 2007 until 2010, said the former paratrooper was returning to Melbourne to resume his business studies at Swinburne University.
‘‘After the army, I came back to Australia and he went back to Holland, he was in Israel a little bit and then decided to come and live in Australia to study.
‘‘He’d been here for two years. He was really happy studying here and living here and we’ve got a nice group of friends.
‘‘I think his intention was to stay in Australia.”
Mr Freedman said his friends learned of Mr Avnon’s death after receiving a phone call on Friday.
‘‘It’s just shocking,’’ Mr Freedman said.
‘‘It’s one of those situations where you can’t be prepared for it.
‘‘It’s a sad loss for my friends and I, but we are dealing with it as best we can and it will only make us stronger and closer as friends to remember and celebrate his life.
‘‘He was a beautiful person in that he was able to really light up a room.
‘‘Everybody loved him. It was very easy to love Itamar.’’
A Glen Iris couple who were important members of Melbourne’s Chinatown business community were also on the flight.
Gary (Why Keong) Lee and Mona Lee (nee Yeoh) had been on a six-week cruise and European holiday.
Mr Lee planned to spend another week with family in Malaysia while his wife was due to return on the connecting flight to Melbourne.
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Mr Lee’s brother Wai Hong Lee told Malaysian website Malay Mail Online: “It is difficult for me to accept that my brother and sister-in-law were on the plane and that I can never see them again.”
The couple migrated to Australia in the mid ’70s and have two daughters who live in Melbourne. Mr Lee retired two years ago.
Toorak College teacher Frankie Davison and her award-winning novelist husband Liam; Sunbury’s Albert and Maree Rizk; and Mallacoota couple Mary and Gerry Menke are also among those confirmed dead.
Former University of Melbourne student Elaine Teoh and her boyfriend Emiel Mahler also perished.
Melbourne-based cyber security specialist Marco Grippeling has also been confirmed dead.
Marco Grippeling’s wife and family on Saturday told of their complete devastation at his death.
Mr Grippeling, 48, is believed to have spent some of his last days with friends and family in his home country of the Netherlands before boarding Malaysia Airlines flight MH 17.
His wife Angela had been holidaying with him but reportedly returned to Australia on an earlier flight.
“Marco’s wife, family and friends both in Australia and Holland are completely devastated by their loss,” a family member told Fairfax Media. “They ask for respect and privacy during this very difficult time.”
Friends back in Europe took to social media to express their shock. “Unreal and hard,” one woman wrote in Dutch.
“A dear friend lost. Some have seen him this week and said goodbye before he went back home in Melbourne again.”
Another friend wrote of talking, laughing and reminiscing with Mr Grippeling on Tuesday. “I ended Tuesday with goodbye to you not knowing that it would be the last goodbye,” she wrote in Dutch. “Marco, I’m going to miss you.”
Mr Grippeling worked in the IT sector for nearly twenty years, where he specialised in cyber security and identifying state sponsored and organised crime threats, most recently for mining giant Rio Tinto.
Meanwhile, Toorak College confirmed the Frankie and Liam Davisons’ death in a Facebook statement on Friday afternoon. The couple had a son, Sam, and daughter, Milly.
School principal Helen Carmody said Mrs Davison, 54, was a literature, English and humanities teacher. She had been at Toorak College for 28 years.
“She was an inspiration to all who came in contact with her,” Ms Carmody said in a statement.
“She was a passionate teacher who loved the arts and literature. She had an enduring commitment to social justice issues and actively engaged young people in the support of disadvantaged communities particularly in Sri Lanka.
“Frankie was a dear friend; warm, generous and kind. She gave so much to Toorak College both personally and professionally.”
Australian illustrator icon Terry Denton, who did workshops with Mr Davison, described the news as “devastating” on his Facebook page.
Mr Davison was awarded the National Book Council’s Banjo Award for Fiction in 1993 and was shortlisted for several other awards including The Age Book of the Year and the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award.
Mallacoota couple Mary and Gerry Menke were prominent business owners in the small East Gippsland town.
Mrs Menke and a daughter operated a hairdressing and beauty salon and Mr Menke was an abalone pioneer through his company, MAPA Pearls. He was also director of the Abalone Fisherman’s Co-operative.
Eastern Zone Abalone Industry Association chief executive Geoff Ellis said Mr Menke and his wife were dedicated to their family, community and the abalone industry.
“Mallacoota’s thoughts, and prayers, are for the family and friends of such a wonderful couple,” he said.
“Such ‘givers’ in small communities are irreplaceable.”
Sunbury couple Albert and Maree Rizk are believed to have been returning from a month-long holiday in Europe.
The couple have two children – James and Vanessa – and have lived in the Sunbury area for more than 20 years, where they were believed to be involved with a number of local sporting clubs.
Sunbury Football Club president Phil Lithgow told Fairfax Media that the Rizks, who were in their early 50s, were travelling with friends in Europe and were due back in Australia today.
“They were with friends and their friends got on an earlier flight,” he said.
Former University of Melbourne student Elaine Teoh and her boyfriend Emiel Mahler were also killed in the crash.
Ms Teoh, originally from Penang in Malaysia, and Mr Mahler, a Dutch national, were both 27. They lived in Melbourne where they worked in the finance sector.
Ms Teoh’s brother David Teoh Qi-en posted the following statement on Facebook from Kuala Lumpur: “While I understand public opinions and comments on MH17, I urge my friends to remain wise and calm when talking about it and also keep my family and I in prayer as we are going through these tough times. Your prayers and thoughtfulness will be very much appreciated.”
The University of Melbourne said in a statement that it was shocked and saddened by the tragic loss of life. Ms Teoh graduated from the university with a Bachelor of Commerce in 2008.
Zack Jones, a friend of Ms Teoh’s, posted on Twitter on Friday morning: “I have no words … I’ve just heard the news that my friend, @elaineteoh was on flight #MH17’’.
A friend of Mr Mahler also paid tribute on his Facebook page.
“A brilliant, friendly and genuine guy, awful news,” he wrote.
The Victorian government revised the number of Victorian victims up from nine to 10 late on Friday afternoon.
Victorian Premier Denis Napthine confirmed the death toll, expressing sympathy to family and loved ones of the victims.
“This is a sad and tragic day, not just for Victorians, but for all people and all nations,’’ he said.
‘‘The shooting down of a passenger aircraft full of innocent civilians is an unspeakable act that will forever leave a dark stain on our history.”
Dr Napthine said there may be a number of permanent Victorian residents who hold foreign passports killed in the disaster.
The Australian death toll from the tragedy has risen to 28, including seven Queenslanders, three people from NSW, one from the ACT and seven from WA.
There are fears that number may rise.
Toowoomba pathologist Roger Guard and his wife Jill are among the nine Queenslanders aboard the MH17. They were on their way home from Europe. Dr Guard was director of pathology at Toowoomba Base Hospital. Albany Creek couple Howard and Susan Horder also died.
Also confirmed dead is NSW nun Sister Philomene Tiernan, a teacher at eastern Sydney Catholic school Kincoppal in Rose Bay. Michael Clancy and his wife Carol are also among the victims. Mr Clancy was former deputy principal at Albion Park Public School, south of Wollongong.
Perth man Nick Norris and three of his grandchildren – 12-year-old Mo, Evie, 10, and Otis, eight – are among seven WA victims.
Canberra resident and mother-of-two Liliane Derden, 50, and Northern Territory teacher Emma Bell also died on the flight.
