Passenger joked about downed plane might have been on aboard

A young Dutchman apparently posted a picture of the downed Malaysian airliner on Facebook minutes before he boarded it, writing: "If it should disappear, this is what it looks like."

Cor Pan, who appeared to be going on a beach holiday to Malaysia, posted the photo as a joking reference to Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which disappeared over the Indian Ocean in March. A few hours later his flight would also disappear from radar screens.

Although there has been no confirmation that Cor, from Volendam, 15km north of Amsterdam, was on board, his photo of the aircraft on the tarmac is tagged "near Schipol airport" and appears to have been taken from the gate as passengers waited to board.

Comments by his friends on Facebook, however, seem to indicate he was on board the flight. Late on Thursday his picture had been shared more than 10,000 times on the social media site.

Petra Bleeker posted a picture of Cor and his girlfriend Neeltje Tol on which she superimposed a white rose. It was unclear whether Tol was also on the flight.

Peter Bootsman posted: "Such a beautiful couple who have been taken from life. I wish you the best, wherever you are." Cor had earlier posted pictures of idyllic tropical beaches on his Facebook page, saying: "A few more days to wait yet ..."