Terengganu team Dutch cyclist de Jonge changed flights on MH17 and MH370
Dutch cyclist Maarten de Jonge escaped death twice within four months after changing both his Malaysia Airlines flights at the last minute, reported Australian broadcaster ABC News.
The 29-year-old member of the Terengganu cycling team was supposed to be on board the doomed MH17 flight that was shot down over near Donetsk in eastern Ukraine on Thursday, as well as on the ill-fated Flight MH370, which vanished over the Indian Ocean in March.
In citing Netherlands public broadcaster RTV Oost, ABC News said Maarten changed his flight at the last minute for both cases.
A statement posted on his website in Dutch confirmed that he was supposed to take MH17, but ended up swapping his ticket for another flight.
"What has happened is terrible, so many victims. That's a horrible thing," ABC News quoted him as saying in a translated statement on his website.
"I have my story and I would like to leave it ... my story is ultimately nothing compared to the misery of so many people."
However, the professional cyclist told RTV Oost he still plans to fly to Malaysia later this week and is not too worried about his flight.
"I have been lucky twice, there's a third time as well," Maarten was quoted as saying by ABC News on RTV Oost about his scheduled flight to Malaysia.
Flight MH17 had departed from Amsterdam on Thursday with 298 people on board, including three infants.
The Kuala Lumpur-bound flight was shot down by a surface-to-air missile over Ukraine.
Those responsible for downing the jet have yet to be identified, with Russian and Ukrainian authorities blaming each other.
Meanwhile, Flight MH370 disappeared en route to Beijing with 239 on board under mysterious circumstances. It was believed to have ended up on the Indian Ocean, but a multi nation search has yet to find any wreckage. – July 20, 2014.
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