MORE than 100 of the 298 passengers on board Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 were en route to a major AIDS conference in Melbourne, several Australian media sources reported Friday.

    Delegates to the 20th International AIDS Conference in Melbourne due to start yesterday were told Friday morning that about 100 medical researchers, health workers and activists were on board.

    Among the lives lost was leading AIDS researcher and former International Aids Society President Professor Joep Lange.

    Lange had worked in HIV research and treatment since 1983. He was instrumental in pivotal antiretroviral therapy trials and on the prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission.

    President of the International AIDS Society and co-chair of the International AIDS Conference 2014, professor Francoise Barre-Sinoussi, said: “It will be a great loss for the HIV/AIDS community.” (SD-Agencies)