Step-grandma of Malaysia Prime Minister Najib Razak was aboard MH17

Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak on Saturday confirmed that his step-grandmother was on board Flight MH17 that was downed over Ukraine en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.

Siti Amirah, 83, was one of 44 Malaysians on board the Malaysia Airlines flight that was downed on Thursday killing all 298 people on board.

“I personally share the grief of the families on board #MH17,” Najib said in a Tweet. “My step-grandmother was one of the passengers.”

Family spokesman Faridah Abdullah told the Star newspaper Siti “was a very, very nice lady”.