Two East Midlands students killed in Ukrainian plane crash

A charity appeal page set up by a victim of flight MH17, who was originally from Leicester, has passed the £10,000 mark after attracting new donations following his death.

More than 650 people have donated to the Kidasha charity on the JustGiving page set up by 20-year-old Richard Mayne.

Richard set up the appeal in January before travelling to Nepal for voluntary work in March.

Kidasha, which helps families living in poverty in Nepal with healthcare and other needs, said the proceeds from the page will be used to help repair a shelter Richard spent time at in Nepal.

READ: Two East Midlands students killed in Ukrainian plane crash

An online charity fundraising appeal set up by a Leicester student killed on flight MH17 has continued to attract thousands of pounds of donations in his memory.

Richard Mayne set up the JustGiving page six months ago to raise funds for the Kidasha charity, which helps disadvantaged children in Nepal.

The 20-year-old's JustGiving page has raised almost £5,000 since his death was confirmed on Friday.

Read: Two East Midlands students killed in Ukranian plane crash

Tributes have been paid to Leeds University student Richard Mayne, 20, who is believed to have been on board the Boeing 777-200 aircraft flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur which was apparently shot down over the war-torn country this week.

Interpol is to send a team to eastern Ukraine to help identify victims of the down Malaysian airliner, it said in a statement. The organisation said it would deploy experts within the next 48 hours. “

"With victims of this tragedy from all parts of the globe, international cooperation is essential in ensuring their accurate, dignified and speedy recovery and identification so as to enable the families to begin the healing process,” said Interpol Secretary General Ronald K. Noble.

Tributes have been paid to a British university student killed in the Malaysia Airlines tragedy in eastern Ukraine.

Ben Pocock, a second year international business degree student at Loughborough University, had been heading to Australia. A university spokeswoman said they were "saddened" to hear of his death:

Ukraine's President Poroshenko has welcomed the UK's offer of support to the team of international investigators and agreed that the UK and Ukrainian authorities would work closely to recover the bodies of those who had died, a Downing Street spokesperson said. The spokesperson added:

The family of Ben Pocock, the Loughborough University student from Bristol who is one of 298 victims of a plane crash on the Ukrainian/Russia border yesterday, have issued a statement speaking of their "devastation" at their loss.

Friends and fellow students have been paying tribute to Loughborough University student Ben Pocock, who was killed in the plane crash in Ukraine yesterday.

The 20-year-old, who was originally from Keynsham in Bristol, was on his way to Australia when the Malaysia Airlines flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur crashed.

He is the second student from the East Midlands revealed to have been killed in the disaster. 20-year-old Richard Mayne from Market Bosworth also lost his life.

Read: Richard Mayne's father 'beyond devastated' after death of son