SPRING, Texas – With more than 150 victims from his home country, the Netherlands, Cyriel Van de Walle wants to know who was responsible for bringing down Malaysia Flight 17 in Ukraine.
Van de Walle, who lives in Spring, moved from the Netherlands 12 years ago. He has many relatives there and fond memories from his homeland. His thoughts are with those who died and their families.
"I'm reading Facebook, my friends in Holland and what they're saying. They're sad and they're also angry because we've had another tragedy in this world," Van de Walle said.
The flight originated in Amsterdam and went down in eastern Ukraine -- an area that's become a war zone, with fighting between the Ukraine government and Russian separatists.
Pentagon officials confirmed the plane was shot down by a missile, yet neither side is claiming responsibility.
As a complicated investigation begins to take shape, Van de Walle said the relatives of the victims will need support.
"I feel for the families. It's a big loss for everybody," said Van de Walle. "They need the strength to come over this again. This, another disaster."
The president of the Netherlands American Chamber of Commerce told Local 2 that starting Friday afternoon, the organization will have a book at its headquarters for members of the community to come by and sign to leave their condolences for the people of the Netherlands.
