"I opened the door and I saw people falling. One fell in my vegetable patch"

[sufrommich]

ROZSYPNE, Ukraine - First came the loud explosion that made buildings rattle: then it started raining bodies. One of the corpses fell through the rickety roof of Irina Tipunova's house in this sleepy village, just after Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 exploded high over eastern Ukraine. "There was a howling noise and everything started to rattle. Then objects started falling out of the sky," the 65-year-old retiree said in front of her gray brick home. "And then I heard a roar and she landed in the kitchen, the roof was broken," she said, showing the gaping hole made by the body when it came through the ceiling.

The dead woman's naked body was still lying inside the house, next to a bed. About 330 feet from Tipunova's home, dozens more dead bodies lay in the wheat fields where the airliner came down on Thursday, killing all 298 people on board. Another local resident in her 20s said she ran outside after hearing the plane explode. "I opened the door and I saw people falling. One fell in my vegetable patch," she said. Chunks of metal, pieces of luggage and other debris came crashing down to the ground in this agricultural area about 25 miles from the border with Russia.
http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/ukraine-plane-crash/mh17-victims-body-crashed-through-roof-ukraine-village-n159386

[MohRokTah]

1. Holy shit!

The horror!

[sufrommich]

5. I imagine the people on the ground were very traumatized by this. nt

[clarice]

31. This is as horrible as the poor people jumping from the towers....

after the 9-11 terrorist attacks.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

43. These people were involved in a massive decompression so they blacked out rapidly....

...probably dead before they hit the ground from the trauma.

[clarice]

56. Spitfire...in my wildest imagination......I just can't imagine it. *shudder* nt

[Spitfire of ATJ]

57. We can only hope they didn't suffer much.

[TwilightGardener]

2. What a horror show. The question is, will they still support the rebels, or

realize these goons aren't their saviors?

[MohRokTah]

4. I'd say the majority of people in the area simply want to live their lives in peace. eom

[TwilightGardener]

11. They need to kick out the rebels, then, or they won't have peace.

The goons and thugs will disappear if there's no popular support for their goals and actions (or short of active support, then complacency about their activities).

[melissaf]

55. With what?

Don't the goons have weapons strong enough to bring down an airliner? What sorts of weapons do the people have?

[ellie]

3. That is absolutely fucking terrible.

[sufrommich]

8. My first thought when I read it was to wonder how

many kids saw the carnage come from the sky.They may never get over that.

[BeyondGeography]

6. Monstrous

Fucking monstrous.

[PeaceNikki]

7. Holy SHIT.

[MineralMan]

9. Horrific!

[maryellen99]

10. I made the mistake of looking at the unedited pictures

They took a pic of a dead baby

[sufrommich]

12. Oh no! I won't make that mistake.

Thanks for the warning.

[KittyWampus]

16. thanks for the warning.

[JustAnotherGen]

13. You can't unsee that

You just can't.

[deathrind]

14. Having a plane come down near you is a surreal event.

This happen in San Diego a very long time ago when a PSA 727 collided mid air with a small prop plane.

[herding cats]

15. What the citizens there are witnessing is beyond horrific.

"Pieces of human flesh are mixed with personal belongings … and parts of the plane," says freelance photographer Petr Shelomovskiy.

Shelomovskiy, who's worked extensively in some of east Ukraine's more dangerous locations the past few months, has tweeted descriptions of a grim scene at the crash site.

"Bodies from MH17 flight are scattered over a large area. I saw several on [a] sunflower field near Shakhtarsk. Pieces of human flesh are mixed with personal belongings, parcels, parts of [the] plane and electronics boxes. Armed men ordered us to leave. Locals are talking about[it being] 'clearly [a] civilian flight' and lots of wreckage in the area."
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/18/malaysia-airlines-crash-flight-recorder-found-as-anger-at-russia-mounts-live-updates#block-53c95e2ee4b0f8fc11b98048

They'll never be the same people they were day before yesterday. The Rebels are impeding access to the OSCE observers, which means they'll have to deal with the bodies even longer.

[LiberalEsto]

17. It reminds me of Lockerbie, Scotland

and the aftermath of Pan Am Flight 103

[geardaddy]

32. Also reminds me a little of the Canary Islands disaster. n/t

[Submariner]

48. And the 1956 TWA and United Grand Canyon mid-air collision

where many bodies were left on the steep cliffs because it would have been too dangerous to retrieve them.

http://www.twaseniorsclub.org/memories/contrails/tragedygrandcanyonTW-UA.html

[YarnAddict]

18. How awful.

Stupid question, I know, but do you think everyone died as a result of the explosion, or were some possibly alive and aware as they were falling? I can't imagine any worse death than that.

[sufrommich]

20. I had to stop reading first person accounts from

the ground when I read a report that said a ten year old boy was found strapped in his chair with his face frozen in fear.I'm not reading anymore.

[hlthe2b]

23. Oh, gawd. Even that description sears the soul....

Those poor people...

[shireen]

21. at 33,000 ft, atmospheric pressure is very much lower and air is very cold

i suspect they became unconscious pretty fast from lack of oxygen. If the plane had somehow remained intact with electrical systems still functioning, oxygen masks would have deployed to keep passengers alive until they could reach a very low altitude. But it appears that the plane was broken up while airborne, so catastrophic depressurization would have been instantaneous.

And it is NOT a stupid question. We all wonder what final moments like that were like for the victims.

[YarnAddict]

25. Thank you for the explanation,

and the kind words.

It is good to know that the passengers didn't know the worst of it.

[Fawke Em]

29. Should have read through the thread before posting.

I said basically the same thing below.

Thankfully, someone already answered.

[former9thward]

36. They would not be aware.

At that height the atmosphere is very thin and cold (about -40 F). A person would lose consciousness quickly because of a lack of oxygen and would not be aware of the fall.

[maddezmom]

19. OMG

[conservaphobe]

22. No one should have to witness something that horrific. nt

[ChisolmTrailDem]

24. Those poor people, those that were in the plane and those on the ground

who had to watch as they rained from the sky. What an awful, tragic, and horrific experience for all involved.

[Duer 157099]

26. Here's a really bizarre thought

Are there any Bible verses that talk about bodies raining from the sky? I would think that if the prophets were really able to see the future, this event would have made it into The Book since bodies falling from the sky is a pretty remarkable event to predict.

To my knowledge, there are no such verses.

Horrific.

[hamsterjill]

27. Devastating.

I'm so sorry for the victims and for the people who had to witness the effects of this crash. Something tells me that those witnesses will never be the same again.

[Fawke Em]

28. I only hope those people were dead before

they hit the ground.

Can you imagine the absolute terror - if even for a short time - of falling 30,000+? No human should have to suffer that.

I always heard most people falling from that height die of heart attacks, seizures, strokes, breathing difficulties, depressurization etc. before they hit the ground. I certainly hope ALL do.

[awoke_in_2003]

45. It was said upthread...

since the plane came apart at 33k feet, so the victims didn't live for long.

[CBGLuthier]

30. On horrific photos and the inability to unsee

There was a very famous photo of a firefighter cradling a baby after the Murrah bombing. I saw it twice. I still can see it without even trying. The second time I saw it was because a co worker thought it was a good example for our work. I developed a photo text search engine back in the 90's for newspapers using the new-fangled web browser technology and he thought it was a good test photo. I let him know if I ever saw that photo again because of him, there would probably be violence between us.

The Firefighter's Hall of Fame in OKC has a statue based on the photo. My sister worked there and when my father had a retirement party we used the place and there was that statue and I have not been back since. Almost 20 years later and I know I still have not fully worked through the horror of the Murrah bombing mainly because of the dead children. Occasionally I have to go to the downtown Post Office and it is right next to the memorial and I can not hardly look at it.

Sorry for the irrelevant rant but it all just came back at the thought of those photos and I will not be looking. I do believe a beer or two is in my future today. This week sucks.

[SoCalDem]

37. Her name was Baylee

Baylee Almon and Oklahoma Firefighter Chris Fields
because an award-winning photo that was in EVERY paper is apparently too upsetting to be seen

I saw the photo as inspiring because of the care and tenderness he showed to the sweet little baby, even though he could not save her life. She mattered...to her parents, to her grandparents, and to most people with a soul who viewed the photo.. She should not be forgotten..

and so..

I have edited to just the link, in case someone might stumble upon the picture that they cannot endure seeing..

but for those of us who do want to remember, they can click the link..

[CBGLuthier]

38. WTF is wrong with you?

God damn it. Thanks a fucking lot. You could have hidden behind a link but no. Ohh damn I do not want a hidden post but fuuuck.

[Orrex]

40. AUTOMATED MESSAGE: Results of your Jury Service

On Fri Jul 18, 2014, 03:59 PM an alert was sent on the following post:

WTF is wrong with you?
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=5258109

REASON FOR ALERT

This post is disruptive, hurtful, rude, insensitive, over-the-top, or otherwise inappropriate.

ALERTER'S COMMENTS

Name calling, abusive language.

You served on a randomly-selected Jury of DU members which reviewed this post. The review was completed at Fri Jul 18, 2014, 04:06 PM, and the Jury voted 1-6 to LEAVE IT.

Juror #1 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: CBGLuthier expressed clear discomfort at this particular imagery and a wish not to have seen it, and SoCalDem promptly posted the same images. I think CBGLuthier's response is appropriate. Leave it.
Juror #2 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: When you post images of this sort, expect responses like this.

Leave it alone.

We are adults here, or so I want to believe...
Juror #3 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: This member does not deserve a hidden post. The reply to him was insensitive in the extreme.
Juror #4 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #5 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: Reality sucks.
Juror #6 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #7 voted to HIDE IT
Explanation: No explanation given

Thank you very much for participating in our Jury system, and we hope you will be able to participate again in the future.

[Rhiannon12866]

42. I was on that jury, too, voted with the majority.

[Barack_America]

54. I'd buy you that beer if you were local.

That was a completely awful move by a usually pretty decent poster.

It's been a bad week for senseless violence involving children. But then again, that always seems to be the case these days. I tend to tune out to the news any more.

[Barack_America]

53. Why on earth would you post that picture.

Jesus.

[sufrommich]

39. I feel that way about pictures of people falling from

the towers on 9/11.I wish I could unsee it.

[ColesCountyDem]

49. I worked the Air Illinois 710 crash, and trust me, you never forget what you see.

Deputy Royster and I were the first two to arrive at the crash scene. I have nightmares to this day about what I saw.

[WI_DEM]

33. What a horrific thing to experience.

[heaven05]

34. ugly, very very ugly

geez They didn't even know what hit em. Those poor innocents. I'm so goddamn sick of people with 'power' not caring about the 'little' people. It's time to raise some hell. Holy hell!!!!!!

[lpbk2713]

35. At that altitude the fall to earth had to be visible for miles.

That's going to haunt a lot of people for a long long time.

And it will always be in the minds of the friends and family too.

I wish them all well in having to cope with it.

[Swede Atlanta]

41. Wow........

As other posters have noted it will take the locals to reject the separatists and send them packing. Unfortunately I suspect the separatists are no different than Boko Haram, AQ, ISIS, etc. in that they intimidate the local populations with a show of guns and other military equipment.

[bcool]

44. Some may have regained conciousness at a lower altitude

True they would have passed out initially, but it's possible some of the passengers woke up as they reached a lower altitude. This happened on occasion to flyers in WWII whose planes were blown out of the sky at high altitudes - some awoke in time to deploy their parachutes after free falling for awhile. Not a common happening, but not impossible. Good grief.

[City Lights]

46. Oh my word, that is horrendous.

[Paper Roses]

47. These poor people. I would hope that they were dead before the fall.

What a horrible way to end ones life. Damn those responsible. I cannot imagine the grief and torment for the relatives. No-one deserves this kind of an end. I am sick to read about this horror.
In the end, this horrible action, no mater who did it, will resolve nothing. The net result is grief for the families and endless sorrow for those whose relatives and friends were on this flight.

I am without words to express my disgust and anger............

[yuiyoshida]

50. People mentioned

horrendous air crashes... the explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1986 made me physically ill when I watched it.. as I am sure it did many, who watched that nightmare, that day.

[madamesilverspurs]

51. Nightmarish.

Back in the 1950s I had screaming nightmares from the films they'd show us explaining the 'duck and cover' drills. The nightmares these witnesses will have are beyond imagining.

[catbyte]

52. How horrific. I hope the passengers were unconscious, but those poor folks on the

ground must be traumatized.