Dutch man, 93, dies days after losing family in MH17 crash

USPA News - A grief-stricken elderly man in the Netherlands, whose family was killed last week in the crash of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, died earlier this week, according to an obituary published on Saturday. The suspected shootdown of the airliner over eastern Ukraine claimed the lives of 298 people.

Hendrik "Henk" Palm, 93, died in the town of Roden in northeastern Drenthe province on Tuesday, according to a notice published on Saturday in two regional newspapers. A relative of the family told a local newspaper last week how the deaths of Palm`s daughter, son-in-law and grandchildren had left him devastated. "After the indescribable grief of losing his daughter Erla, son-in-law Rob, and grandchildren Merel and Mark, after the crash of the Malaysia Airlines flight, we must inform you with great sadness that Henk Palm has died at the age of 93," the obituary said. The cause of death was not revealed. It said Palm`s wife Truus Bruggeman had died in August 2004. Erla Palm and her partner Rob van der Linde, along with their two children ages 12 and 17, were flying on board Flight MH17 to start a three-week holiday in Malaysia. The 17-year-old girl, Merel, had graduated from high school last month while her 12-year-old brother, Mark, had just finished elementary school. "Erla was his only daughter. She did everything for him, including accounting and making payments," Erla`s cousin, whose name is also Henk Palm, told regional newspaper De Stentor last week. "I think the real blow for my uncle is yet to come, when the family doesn`t return in three weeks. He is completely helpless, so how that goes from here..." Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 crashed near the city of Torez in eastern Ukraine on July 17, killing all 298 passengers and crew in the world`s deadliest aviation disaster since the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. It is believed the aircraft was downed by a surface-to-air missile that was fired from separatist-controlled territory.