July 18, 2004 - TheBodyPro.com by Julie "JD" Davids
A time of much anticipated excitement for the global HIV community has instead become a day of mourning, even as the leaders of the AIDS 2014 conference vow to proceed with the gathering in honor of comrades who lost their lives on Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 yesterday.
A statement from conference hosts International AIDS Society explains that "In recognition of our colleagues' dedication to the fight against HIV/AIDS, the conference will go ahead as planned and will include opportunities to reflect and remember those we have lost."
Buzzfeed has gathered photos and memories of AIDS 2014 registrants who were on the flight whose names have been confirmed.
Although there have been widespread reports of as many as 108 conference-goers on the plane, incoming IAS president Chris Behrer told the Washington Post that the true count may be much lower, explaining that, "We have been working hard to try and confirm how many people were on the flight. We've been speaking to a number of different authorities and we think the actual number is much smaller." Continue reading...