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STORY: The Dutch King and Queen signed a book of condolence in the Hague on Friday (July 18) in memory of the 298 people who lost their lives on board Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 that crashed in eastern Ukraine on Thursday (July 17).
King Willem Alexander and his wife, Queen Maxima, jointly signed a message written by the King in the book, which has been set up in the Ministry of Justice.
189 Dutch nationals have been identified as being on board the doomed flight along with passengers from at least nine other countries.
In a country which values restraint and avoids public displays of strong emotion, politicians and media stuck largely to reflecting somberly on those who died in the tragedy.
While Dutch and world leaders demanded an international investigation into the crash over the conflict zone of eastern Ukraine, the nation steered clear of rapidly accusing any of the sides of shooting the jet down.
Leaders of
