At an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Friday, diplomats stood up and held a moment of silence for all those who had lost their lives on the downed Malaysian Airliner plane over eastern Ukraine.

The Malaysian Airliner, MH17, from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was flying at 33,000 feet before it was shot down over eastern Ukraine killing 298 people on board.

Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman told the Security Council, "While the UN has at this point no independent verification of the circumstances regarding the tragic crash yesterday of a Malaysian Airlines passenger plane, the Secretary-General is alarmed at what seem to be credible, numerous reports that suggest that a sophisticated surface-to-air missile was used.

"The Secretary-General strongly condemns this apparently deliberate downing of a civilian aircraft. This horrifying incident serves as the starkest reminder of how dire the situation in eastern Ukraine has become -- and how it affects countries and families well beyond Ukraine's borders." 

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday called for a full and transparent investigation of the downing of Malaysian Flight MH17.  

"I am closely monitoring the reports, along with the International Civil Aviation Organization, a United Nations agency. There is clearly a need for a full and transparent international investigation," Ban Ki-moon told reporters at UN Headquarters.

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a specialized UN agency, and Ukrainian officials are discussing the possibility of putting together an international probe team.

U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power told the Security Council that the US cannot rule out that Russian helped launch the missile attack, and the U.S. believes the plane was likely downed by an SA-11 missile fired from eastern Ukraine.

"Because of the technical complexity of the SA-11, it is unlikely that the separatists could effectively operate the system without assistance from knowledgeable personnel. Thus, we cannot rule out technical assistance from Russian personnel in operating systems," Power said, according The Associated Press.

"Ukraine also has SA-11 missiles, but the United Nations is not aware of any in the area where the plane was shot down."

The entire Security Council called for "a full, thorough and independent international investigations, in accordance with international civil aviation guidelines."

Mourners were gathered outside the United Nations in Manhattan on Friday to remember those killed in the crash.  One mourner told a NY1 reporter, "I think it's an unbelievable tragedy, and nobody expected that the war that is happening in Eastern Ukraine will take the life of peaceful people."