An Australian couple who lost three children in the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 have had a new baby.
Marite ‘Rin’ Norris and Anthony Maslin announced their daughter, Violet May, saying in a statement she had brought them “love and light, hope and joy.” She was born Tuesday, May 10.
The couple’s three other children — Mo, Evie, and Otis Maslin — died alongside their grandfather Nick Norris when MH17 was shot down over Ukraine in July 2014.
‘Torn apart’
“Our family was torn apart when MH17 was blown out of the sky,” the Maslins said, in a statement released by Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs.
They added: “We believe that Mo, whose 14th birthday was Saturday, Evie, 12 next week, Otis, 10 next month, and Grandad Nick have sent us an amazing gift. Violet’s birth is a testament to our belief that love is stronger than hate.”
“We still live with pain, but Violet, and the knowledge that all four kids are with us always, brings light to our darkness.”
“We will continue to love all four of our children equally. Violet brings some hope and joy for us. We hope she brings hope and joy for you too.”
Shot down
MH17 was heading from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it was shot down on July 17, 2014, over Ukrainian territory controlled by pro-Russian separatists. All 298 people on board died in the crash.
In their report on the incident released last October, Dutch investigators found that the plane crashed after a missile warhead exploded outside the cockpit.
Several Western nations and the Ukrainian government have accused pro-Russia separatists operating in the region of shooting down the plane with a missile.
Rebel leaders and the Russian government have repeatedly disputed those allegations, and have suggested instead that Ukrainian forces shot the plane down with either a surface-to-air missile or one of their own fighter jets.
Following the report’s publication, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said “we must do the utmost so that the people who did it will not avoid … punishment.”