MH17 crash: Ukraine rebels 'to allow access to site' Skip to main content

MH17 crash: Ukraine rebels 'to allow access to site'


Pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine are to give international investigators access to the crash site of a Malaysia Airlines jet.

The rebels vowed to secure the site and allow the recovery of bodies, the Organization for the Security and Co-operation in Europe said.

The plane, carrying 298 people, crashed in rebel-held territory on Thursday.
The two sides in Ukraine's civil conflict have accused each other of shooting the jet down with a missile.

The Boeing 777 was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. It fell between Krasni Luch in Luhansk region and Shakhtarsk in the neighbouring region of Donetsk.

Latest figures released by Malaysia Airlines show the plane was carrying at least 173 Dutch nationals, 27 Australians, 44 Malaysians (including 15 crew), 12 Indonesians and nine Britons.
Plane debris (17 July 2014) The plane came down near the village of Grabovo in Ukraine on Thursday
People stand next to the wreckages of the MH17 machine (18 July 2014) Debris from the plane covers a very large area
Broken watch at the crash site (18 July 2017) This photo shows a broken watch found on a plastic cover near the site
Ukrainian coal miners search the crash site (18 July 2014) Ukrainian coal miners are seen searching a sunflower field close to the crash site
Other passengers came from Germany, Belgium, the Philippines and Canada. The dead include world-renowned Dutch researcher Joep Lange who was among a number of passengers en route to an international Aids conference in Australia.

It is the second disaster suffered by Malaysia Airlines this year. Flight MH370 disappeared en route from Malaysia to China in March and has still not been found.
'Catastrophe'
 
The separatists pledged to provide assistance after holding a video conference with senior representatives from the OSCE, Ukraine and Russia.

In a statement, the OSCE said the rebels had agreed to "close off the site of the catastrophe and allow local authorities to start preparations for the recovery of bodies".
They would also guarantee "safe access" to international investigators and OSCE monitors and co-operate with Ukrainian authorities.

The OSCE said 30 members of its Ukrainian monitoring mission were expected to arrive at the plane crash site later on Friday.

Ukraine has declared the area a no-fly zone, while other airlines have announced they are now setting flight paths to avoid eastern Ukraine.

Rescue workers said on Friday they had recovered one of the plane's black box flight recorders after searching through debris spread across several kilometres.
The Interfax-Ukraine news agency earlier reported that another black box was found by separatist fighters and handed over to Moscow. Observers say the move, if confirmed, is likely to cause international controversy.
US and Ukrainian officials said they believed the plane had been brought down by a missile - a Buk thought to have been used by the rebels in Ukraine before.
Upset Malaysian woman (18 July 2014) A Malaysian woman weeps after seeing the name of her daughter on the passenger list
The separatists were said to have seized the Buk after overrunning a Ukrainian military base.
However, Ukraine's Prosecutor General Vitaliy Yarema has cast doubt on this, telling local media on Friday: "The military told the president after the passenger plane had been shot down that the terrorists did not possess our Buk missile systems."
Ukraine has called the disaster an "act of terrorism", blaming it on Russia who it says has been aiding the rebels in the conflict and supplying them with advanced weapons.
"The Russians are done for. This is an international crime which must be investigated by the international tribunal in The Hague," Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said.
Ukrainian authorities have released what they say are intercepted phone conversations that proved the plane was shot down by pro-Russian separatists.
Flag flies at half-mast at Binnenhof in The Hague, Netherlands (18 July 2014) Public buildings in the Netherlands have been flying flags at half mast on Friday
Crowd gathered outside the Dutch embassy in Kiev (17 July 2014) Vigils have been held outside the the Dutch embassy in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev
Frontpage of Australian newspaper Herald Sun (18 July 2014) The crash made worldwide headlines, with the Australian Herald Sun printing a special edition
But Russian President Vladimir Putin has blamed the Ukraine government for restarting military operations in the area, where it is trying to regain control from pro-Russian rebels.
"The country in whose airspace this happened bears responsibility for it," he said.
Russia has called for a "thorough and unbiased" investigation, adding that the tragedy also highlighted a need for a swift end to the Ukrainian conflict.
Separatist leader Alexander Borodai also accused the Ukrainian government of downing the airliner.
Buk surface-to-air missile system
SA-11 Gadfly
Also known as SA-11 Gadfly (or newer SA-17 Grizzly)
Russian-made, mobile, medium range system
Weapons: Four surface-to-air missiles
Missile speed (max): Mach 3
Target altitude (max): 22,000 metres (72,000ft)
Source: Global Security
line
But Ukraine's defence ministry said there were no Air Force jets in the area and no surface-to-air systems being used against the rebels.
Earlier on Thursday, Ukrainian officials blamed the Russian Air Force for shooting down one of its ground attack jets on Wednesday, and a transport plane on Monday.
International leaders, including US President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, have called for an immediate ceasefire in eastern Ukraine.
Shelling is continuing as Ukrainian forces try to advance against the rebels.
The UN Security Council is to hold an emergency meeting on the plane disaster on Friday morning in New York.
BBC map

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-28361908

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Chronology of the Press in Burma

1836 – 1846 * During this period the first English-language newspaper was launched under British-ruled Tenasserim, southern  Burma . The first ethnic Karen-language and Burmese-language newspapers also appear in this period.     March 3, 1836 —The first English-language newspaper,  The Maulmain Chronicle , appears in the city of Moulmein in British-ruled Tenasserim. The paper, first published by a British official named E.A. Blundell, continued up until the 1950s. September 1842 —Tavoy’s  Hsa-tu-gaw  (the  Morning Star ), a monthly publication in the Karen-language of  Sgaw ,  is established by the Baptist mission. It is the first ethnic language newspaper. Circulation reached about three hundred until its publication ceased in 1849. January 1843 —The Baptist mission publishes a monthly newspaper, the Christian  Dhamma  Thadinsa  (the  Religious Herald ), in Moulmein. Supposedly the first Burmese-language newspaper, it continued up until the first year of the second Angl

Thai penis whitening trend raises eyebrows

Image copyright LELUXHOSPITAL Image caption Authorities warn the procedure could be quite painful A supposed trend of penis whitening has captivated Thailand in recent days and left it asking if the country's beauty industry is taking things too far. Skin whitening is nothing new in many Asian countries, where darker skin is often associated with outdoor labour, therefore, being poorer. But even so, when a clip of a clinic's latest intriguing procedure was posted online, it quickly went viral. Thailand's health ministry has since issued a warning over the procedure. The BBC Thai service spoke to one patient who had undergone the treatment, who told them: "I wanted to feel more confident in my swimming briefs". The 30-year-old said his first session of several was two months ago, and he had since seen a definite change in the shade. 'What for?' The original Facebook post from the clinic offering the treatment, which uses lasers to break do

Is 160 enough? One Indian man's family

By Sumnima Udas , CNN October 31, 2011 -- Updated 0857 GMT (1657 HKT) Ziona, center, with his has 39 wives, 86 children and 35 grandchildren in rural Baktwang village, India. STORY HIGHLIGHTS One man in India is the patriarch of a family of 160 in rural India Ziona, who only goes by his first name, has 39 wives, 86 children and 35 grandchildren. Ziona's father, Chana, founded the Christian sect in Baktwang that promotes polygamy "I never wanted to get married but that's the path God has chosen for me" Mizoram, India (CNN) -- The world's population hits 7 billion this week, but Ziona, the patriarch of what may be the biggest family in the world, is not bothered. "I don't care about overpopulation in India ... I believe God has chosen us to be like this (have big families). Those who are born into this family don't want to leave this tradition so we just keep growing and growing," he says with a smile. Ziona, who only goes by his f