BRUSSELS, July 18 -- Five Belgian citizens were among the victims of the crashed Malaysia Airlines flight, Belgian Deputy Prime Minister Didier Reynders said on Friday.

Reynders extended his condolences to the families and friends of the victims, calling for an investigation to clarify the causes of the tragedy.

The Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has opened an emergency hotline to provide information to concerned family members.

A Malaysia Airlines passenger jet crashed in eastern Ukraine Thursday en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, with all 298 people onboard killed. Most of the dead were from the Netherlands.

One of the Dutch victims was the wife of a Belgian passenger killed, said the foreign ministry.