A Malaysian airliner flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur with 295 people on board has crashed in east Ukraine, where pro-Russian rebels are battling government forces, Russian and Ukrainian news agencies reported, citing aviation and security sources.

The Boeing passenger liner came down close to town of Shaktarsk in the rebellion-wracked region of Donetsk after disappearing from the radar and teams from the emergency services were trying to reach the scene, an unnamed security source told Interfax-Ukraine news agency.