Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 shot down in Ukraine!

[genetic]

Its here Wiki

Showing two different versions, the rebels version where the plane was shot down by a Ukrainian Su-25 which the wiki article is critical about and then the BUK version.

The problem is Wiki itself.

 

[Unhappy438]

The problem is Wiki itself.

The problem is Russian wiki

 

[Jola]

Its here Wiki

Showing two different versions, the rebels version where the plane was shot down by a Ukrainian Su-25 which the wiki article is critical about and then the BUK version.

Wish I could read that.

Never mind, Google translated it for me

Edit : Pretty good translation :

Version implicating rebels


SAM "Buk-M1"
Release Adviser to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Anton Gerashchenko plane shot down "terrorists of air defense missile system "Buk" " [33] [34] [35] . He has published photos contrail allegedly abandoned missile air defense system "Buk", [36] and stated that the missile was launched "from the third district of the city Torez" [36] . Prosecutor General of Ukraine Vitaly Yarema said that "terrorists" did not seize Ukrainian complexes "Book" or "S-300" [37] [38] . Release the head of the SBU Valentin Nalyvaychenko , anti-aircraft "was transferred from the territory of Russia" with the crew, which is confirmed by intercepted conversations [39] . The Interior Ministry of Ukraine, "there is evidence that the accident involved a Russian military personnel" [40] . Ukraine's permanent representative in the UN Yuriy Sergeyev said that Kiev will present evidence implicating the UN Russian military to disaster [41] . Correspondent Associated Press Peter Leonard in his report transmitted on July 17, said that one of the AP correspondent saw anti-aircraft system "Buk" in rebel-controlled Snow [42] .

According to Dmitry Tymchuk in the day of the disaster in the region was recorded with rebel column SAM "Buk" [43] . At the same time, according to the chief editor of "National Defense" Igor Korotchenko , fell into the hands of insurgents complexes "Buk" are incapable of fighting in the state [44] .

System "Buk" are armed Ukrainian troops [45] and, according to military analyst Paul Goltz, "both sides have qualified for its application" [46] . Also, the system "Buk" are armed Russian troops [47] . Earlier supporter DNR political scientist Sergey Kurguinjan claimed that armed militias have in the installation of "Book" [48] .

Near the liner ran route Ukrainian military transport aircraft " IL-76 " [ citation needed ] , which was headed, according to journalist Yury Butusova, relief goods blocked Ukrainian troops [49] . Staff at the request of the Anti-Terrorist Center, "in which one plane would get - unknown" [50] .

July 18 Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has announced the arrest on the Ukrainian-Russian border in the Donetsk region of the two "fire spotters from Russia", who are accused of involvement in the accident [51] . SBU representative also said that the crew of the SAM "Buk", which launched a missile shot down the plane - three Russian servicemen and SBU intends to find out their names [51] . Russian Defense Ministry issued an official statement that no Russian military equipment or military personnel state border with Ukraine have not crossed. Defense Ministry spokesman also noted that "fire spotters are used only for those weapons systems, the objectives of which are located on the ground" [52] .

SBU announced record the conversation "terrorists", which states that "a group of Minera" shot down and he fell for Yenakievo, then, that the plane appeared civil [53] . On the recording person with the callsign "Major" report information interlocutor with the callsign "Greek", which calls Sasha. "Major" also reported on documents found at the scene, "Indonesian students from Thompson Institute" [54] . Management representative DNR Sergey Kavtaradze said that approval of the SBU intercepted radio communications Cossacks is "unprofessional propaganda" [55] In addition, a representative of the militia said that appearing in the negotiations the rebels were far from the scene, and chernuhinsky outpost from which supposedly brought down the plane by information from the record is already in the Luhansk region [56] . On the desertion of the militia man with the callsign "Minesweeper" reported on July 3 [57] .

According to the information of the SBU in the negotiations was intercepted I. Bezler ("Demon"), who reported "his supervisor Colonel GRU RF V. Geraninu just about militants downed civilian aircraft " [58] [59] . Geranin subsequently refuted discussion on the downed plane [60] .

President of Ukraine said in a statement blamed the incident on militias, referring to the SBU captured militant leader talks with Colonel of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation Vasily Geraninym [61] .

June 18 President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly Kanerva said there are clear signs that the missile launched from rebel-controlled areas, this could cause a catastrophe [62] . A similar statement was made ​​by Prime Minister Donald Tusk [63] .

Version DNR and LC
Release Management LC , Boeing 777 was shot down by Ukrainian attack aircraft Su-25 [64] (which, however, can cause problems: practical ceiling application gunship about 3,000 meters lower than the height at which flew Boeing; stormtroopers are not intended to conduct offensive combat Action against flying targets [65] ). Agency RIA Novosti reported that witnesses from the village, near which fell Boeing, watched warplane fired several missiles that exploded somewhere in the sky, then the ground began to fall fragments [66] .

Manual LC stated that he had no weapons capable of shoot down the plane at a height [67] . Prime self-proclaimed People's Republic of Donetsk (DNI) Boroday Alexander said that "we can not afford defense militia, which could hit the transport plane on the trunk height" [68] [69] . According to the DNR, they do not have the ability to destroy aircraft available means of air defense [70] [71] .

Earlier it was reported that in late June DNR militia captured military unit A-1402 - Air Defense Regiment, armed with SAM "Buk", which the Ukrainian side was stated that he is incapacitated [72] . Shortly thereafter, the Prosecutor General of Ukraine Vitaly Yarema denied that representatives of DNR and LC, the Ukrainian leadership called terrorists seized Ukrainian complexes "Book" or "S-300" [37] [73] . One of the leaders of New Russia said that the military unit occupied Donetsk militias were only unsuitable for repair of the air defense system "Buk" [74] .

"People's Governor" Donetsk Paul Gubarev, accusing Kiev authorities in the crash an airliner, said the plane was shot down in the 200-300 km from the crash site, that is, in the Dnipropetrovsk region [75] .

Defense Minister DNR Igor Girkin , conjectured that "a significant portion of corpses -" stale. "People died and several days ago. For complete accuracy of this information can not answer - of course, you need forensic conclusion" [76] [77]

 

[Bar0n]

A few posts up, there's a link to a news24 (that bastion of decent journalism) where the article states that the pro-russia Igor Girkin said the site was littered with long-dead bodies.

So you're convinced there were 100 AIDS researchers on the plane, not 6, just because News24 posted it?

The long-dead bodies article was written by the AP, not News24. The article on the number of AIDS researchers was written by the AFP.

 

[GreGorGy]

So you're convinced there were 100 AIDS researchers on the plane, not 6, just because News24 posted it?

The long-dead bodies article was written by the AP, not News24. The article on the number of AIDS researchers was written by the AFP.

Oh hell no! I am merely using a little sarcasm to illustrate the absurdity of the Russian's claims.

 

[Alan]

What does the world want him to do?

Deliver on his promise. Make all this antagonism going away. The reset button was pressed 5 years ago already

 

[supersunbird]

Related in a sense

Those separatists seem "strange".

 

[supersunbird]

Apologies if posted before, I'm on my phone.

[video=youtube;Px2rfWBW4wg]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Px2rfWBW4wg[/video]

Why the f are they throwing stuff away? F these separatists and f their whole cause.

 

[Alan]

Ive never seen the UK press like this

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bs2iee6CMAEiZZI.jpg
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bs2ivGACAAA7KwC.jpg
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bs2kdRMCEAAw8XR.jpg
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bs2kvUJCQAAG3TO.jpg
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bs2tljyIcAEfNre.jpg
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bs2t46fIYAAv8-A.jpg
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bs2u3D9IEAAPzlB.jpg
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bs2wVXgIYAAHoPl.jpg

Going the same way as the U.S media......

The degradation of mainstream American press coverage of Russia, a country still vital to US national security, has been under way for many years. If the recent tsunami of shamefully unprofessional and politically inflammatory articles in leading newspapers and magazines—particularly about the Sochi Olympics, Ukraine and, unfailingly, President Vladimir Putin—is an indication, this media malpractice is now pervasive and the new norm.

There are notable exceptions, but a general pattern has developed. Even in the venerable New York Times and Washington Post, news reports, editorials and commentaries no longer adhere rigorously to traditional journalistic standards, often failing to provide essential facts and context; to make a clear distinction between reporting and analysis; to require at least two different political or “expert” views on major developments; or to publish opposing opinions on their op-ed pages. As a result, American media on Russia today are less objective, less balanced, more conformist and scarcely less ideological than when they covered Soviet Russia during the Cold War.

http://www.thenation.com/article/178344/distorting-russia#

 

[Unhappy438]

The Dutch embassy in Kyiv

https://twitter.com/olesyass13l/status/490420708607275008/photo/1

This was outside the Dutch embassy in Moscow

 

[Jola]

Going the same way as the U.S media......

http://www.thenation.com/article/178344/distorting-russia#

Well what do you expect after a terrorist attack in which the Russian President is implicitly involved, and where they try to shift the blame by subterfuge and lies ?

The Russians should come clean and admit to what actually happened, which is that ill-trained and undisciplined separatists randomly fired at aircraft with sophisticated weapons supplied by Putin.

 

[Unhappy438]

Russian media is covering up Putin's complicity in the MH17 tragedy

On Thursday in eastern Ukraine – where Russian-supported separatists have declared an autonomous state – a plane with civilians on board was shot down.

The plane did not crash and it did not "collapse" – as was written by some of the Russian media – it was shot down from the ground. We in Russia know this – if not from our own news organizations, then from several video commentaries, including one in which a little boy says, "Look! A junta plane has been shot down! Well done, DPR!" (The DPR is the Russian-backed Donetsk People's Republic, and the "junta" is the legally elected government of Ukraine – the typical way for Russian propaganda to refer to the present government in Kiev.) This child does not know – and may never find out – that the downed aircraft had children like him on board.

In their reporting on the tragedy, the Russian media defined the accident scene as "east of Ukraine", forgetting the terms such as "New Russia", "DPR", "LPR" – the Lugansk People's Republic, another separatist territory in Ukraine – for the evening. In the new Russia, such errors could not have happened, so they simply won't have happened. Our government, and its collaborators in the media, will see to that.

The people do not need to see tragedies, they seem to believe – only victories of the Russian soldiers, the heroes of their homeland, and the brave patriots in eastern Ukraine that we should support.

The alleged Vkontakte page of Igor Strelkov, "patriot" and leader of the pro-Russian army in Donetsk, bragged that the DPR’s army shot down a Ukrainian AN-26 aircraft about a half hour after the tragedy. "We warned them not fly 'in our skies'", it said, without any photographs to prove it was a military plane. A few hours after going viral, the statement was removed. Friday, the author claimed that the dead bodies – reportedly seen falling through the air as the plane disintegrated – were already dead, another claim parroted by the media

Alexander Boroday, the prime minister of the self-proclaimed DPR (who was added to the US sanctions list a day before MH-17 was taken down) simply declared: "If it really was a passenger airliner, we did not do it". This statement is a concise version of the position often adopted by Russian authorities: do not admit to anything, whatever happens, however obviously untrue.

Almost immediately after the tragedy, Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko officially announced that Ukrainian troops were not involved in the attack on the airplane, noting that they didn't even have weapons capable of shooting down a plane at that range. Russian President Putin responded to Poroshenko five hours later by accusing Ukraine of responsibility for the disaster – though all of Russian television media seem to have beaten him to that, at least after they finished repeating that it was a Ukrainian military transport plane that was shot down.

By this weekend, the international media will likely stop using the term "militia members" and nobody outside of Russia will call the Donetsk army representatives anything other than "terrorists". Here, though, Putin will continue his support for the people that the West will call terrorists. The DPR's anti-aircraft missiles – which everyone believes were used to shoot down the plane – were probably transferred from eastern Ukraine back to their Russia owners under cover of night, and records of their possession have already been erased from Strelkov’s page and widely denied by the separatists who were nonetheless seen using them. But in Putin's Russia, you can't believe your eyes. You have to believe what you are told.

There is too much evidence that the Malaysia Airlines flight was shot down by the pro-Russian DPR army. Not on purpose: it was a stupid, horrible accident, a mistake too easily made when people get confused (or are deliberately confused by their leaders), when inchoate rage and patriotism are aimed at a target as big as the sky. But rather than admit their mistakes, our leaders ask us to accept a lie. After all, as Duma representative Sergei Kalashnikov wrote, "Will it be any easier for you if you find out who shot the plane down?".

It won't be easy – but it is nonetheless necessary to find out who shot the plane down, though endless layers of propaganda will have to be shoved aside. And having to do so will make the discovery of the truth about this tragedy even more painful, once you understand all the forces that don't want you to know the truth.

http://www.theguardian.com/commenti...-media-cover-up-putin-mh17-tragedy?CMP=twt_gu

 

[Fulcrum29]

Why the f are they throwing stuff away? F these separatists and f their whole cause.

I’m in disgust, also moving bodies etc. This is evident that Putin wants to sway his local (Russian) opinion in turn to blame Ukraine. It makes me sick reading comments in Russian media, propaganda to the very end.

 

[Unhappy438]

U.S. Sees Evidence of Russian Links to Jet’s Downing

The United States government has concluded that the passenger jet felled over Ukraine was shot down by a Russian-made surface-to-air missile launched from rebel-held territory and most likely provided by Russia to pro-Moscow separatists, officials said on Friday.

While American officials are still investigating the chain of events leading to the destruction of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 on Thursday, they pointed to a series of indicators of Russian involvement. Among other things, military and intelligence officials said there was mounting evidence that a Ukrainian military plane shot down three days earlier had been fired upon from inside Russian territory by the same sort of missile battery used to bring down the civilian jet.

The intelligence persuaded President Obama to publicly lay responsibility at least indirectly at the door of the Kremlin. Speaking at the White House, he tried to channel international indignation toward Russia for what he called an “outrage of unspeakable proportions.” Mr. Obama said the episode should be “a wake-up call for Europe” and “should snap everybody’s heads to attention” about what is going on in Ukraine, where a pro-Russia insurgency has become an international crisis.

Without going into detail about the intelligence he had been shown, Mr. Obama said that the separatists had been armed and trained “because of Russian support.” High-flying aircraft cannot be shot down without sophisticated equipment and training, he added, “and that is coming from Russia.”

He singled out President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, accusing him of waging a proxy war that led to the tragedy. “He has the most control over that situation,” Mr. Obama said, “and so far, at least, he has not exercised it.”

Russia denied involvement and suggested that Ukraine’s military might have been responsible, an assertion Ukraine rejected. Mr. Putin called for talks, saying: “All sides to the conflict must swiftly halt fighting and begin peace negotiations. It is with great concern and sadness that we are watching what is happening in eastern Ukraine. It’s awful; it’s a tragedy.”

As investigators tried to sort out control of the crash site in the middle of a war zone and families mourned the victims, the global revulsion at the downing of the plane grew, particularly with the news that a number of AIDS researchers were among the dead. European leaders joined Mr. Obama in calling for an international investigation unimpeded by combatants, and Ukraine asked the United Nations civil aviation authority to lead an investigation.

While separatists guarding the crash site allowed some Ukrainian government rescue teams to enter and begin collecting bodies on Friday, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said the armed rebels had prevented its monitors from gaining full access to the site in order to secure a safe route for the investigation and salvaging operations.

One rebel even fired into the air as the monitors were leaving, according to a spokesman for the organization, Michael Bociurkiw, who was there. Mr. Bociurkiw said bodies in the field were beginning to bloat. A separatist leader said that the governments of the Netherlands and Malaysia had asked the rebels informally not to disturb the crime scene, but that there were not enough refrigerators to keep the bodies there.

Among the 298 people who died when the plane came down was Quinn Lucas Schansman, 19, who was born in New York to a Dutch father and had dual American and Dutch citizenship. Mr. Schansman had been studying in Amsterdam when he decided to fly to Indonesia, where his family was on a three-week vacation. “He was headed over there to meet them,” said Katinka Wallace, a relative.

Mr. Schansman’s Facebook page indicated that he had moved to Amsterdam on April 24 and had been in a relationship with a young woman since last year. His favorite quotation was “I have a dream!” On Friday, friends and relatives posted remembrances in Dutch. “Dear cousin and friend, we’re going to miss you,” one wrote.

American intelligence agencies concluded that the Boeing 777-200 was struck by a Russian-made SA-11 missile fired from a rebel-controlled area near the border in Ukraine. American analysts were focused on an area near the small towns of Snizhne and Torez, about midway between the rebel strongholds of Donetsk and Luhansk.

Their determination was based on an analysis of the launch plume and trajectory of the missile, as detected by an American military spy satellite. But the analysis did not pinpoint the origin of the missile launch or identify who launched it. “Those are the million-dollar questions,” said a senior Pentagon official who, like others, insisted on anonymity to discuss details of the analysis.

Although the separatists claimed to have captured a Ukrainian SA-11 battery in late June, a senior American official said the system was not believed to be operational. “We have high confidence that it was not a Ukrainian system,” the official said of the battery that shot down the Malaysian plane. “We have reason to suspect that it could be a Russian-supplied system.”

The downing of the Ukrainian military transport plane on Monday figured prominently in the evaluations. Western officials said there were strong indications that the missile that struck that plane, an Antonov-26, came from the Russian side of the border, although the crash is still under investigation.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/19/w...p-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0

 

[Unhappy438]

Some of the bodies fell through peoples roving into their house

Pictures are NSFL

http://lightbox.time.com/2014/07/18/malaysia-airline-ukraine-crash-jerome-sessini/#1

 

[Seriously]

Some of the bodies fell through peoples roving into their house

Pictures are NSFL

http://lightbox.time.com/2014/07/18/malaysia-airline-ukraine-crash-jerome-sessini/#1

Must have been traumatic and scary! Seems the plane exploded and disintegrated completely when the missile hit!

 

[schumi]

Failure to secure MH17 crash site 'betrayal' of lives lost: Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia on Saturday said vital evidence at the Ukrainian site where flight MH17 went down had been tampered with, calling it a "betrayal" of the lives lost in the disaster.

"The integrity of the site has been compromised, and there are indications that vital evidence has not been preserved in place. Interfering with the scene of the crash risks undermining the investigation itself," said Malaysian Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai.

"Any actions that prevent us from learning the truth about what happened to MH17 cannot be tolerated. Failure to stop such interference would be a betrayal of the lives that were lost," he told a press conference.

Concerns are mounting over the integrity of the crash zone in rebel-held eastern Ukraine.

Liow said a Malaysian team, including two air accident investigators who arrived in Kiev early Saturday, were so far unable to access the crash site.

"We must have full access to the site and must ensure evidence on the site is not tampered. We also hope that we can ensure that justice can prevail," he said, adding that he would fly to Kiev later Saturday to expedite matters.

Kiev says rebels trying to destroy crash evidence 'with Russian support'



Ukraine on Saturday accused Russia of helping separatist insurgents, they say shot down the Malaysian airliner, try to destroy evidence at the crash site.

"The Ukrainian government officially announces: terrorists with the support of Russia are trying to destroy proof of this international crime," Ukraine's government said in a statement.

Pro-Moscow rebels had removed 38 bodies from the crash site to a morgue in the insurgent-controlled city of Donetsk where "specialists with clearly Russian accents" said they would conduct autopsies, the statement alleged.

Separatist forces were also blocking access to the site for Ukrainian investigators and international observers and searching for lorries to transport the wreckage to Russia, the statement claimed.

An AFP crew at the scene of the crash Saturday said that armed rebels were preventing journalists from accessing the site and shot in the air to warn them back.

One rebel commander said that dozens of bodies had been removed to the morgue in Donetsk as rescue workers under their supervision continued to collect body parts.

"27 bodies were taken away" this morning, the insurgent commander said, refusing to give his name.

A group of international observers from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) told AFP that they hoped to return to the crash scene Saturday afternoon after only being granted very limited access to the site by armed rebels a day earlier.

Kiev said earlier Saturday that rebels had agreed with a trilateral group of mediators to set up a security zone around the site.

Ukrainian authorities have accused the rebels of shooting down the plane in a "terrorist act" and released a recording of what they claim is an intercepted call between a rebel commander and Russian intelligence agent discussing how they had hit the jet.

Russia demands answers from Ukraine

Meanwhile, Russia fought back on Saturday against claims of its involvement in the downing of the jet, instead implying that the government in Kiev might be responsible.

Russia's defence ministry says it has evidence indicating that Ukrainian missile systems were active in the area.

The crash of the Boeing 777 passenger plane shocked the world and triggered a fierce blame game, with Moscow and Kiev trading accusations.

Russian deputy defence minister Anatoly Antonov went on national television on Saturday to reel off a list of 10 "simple" questions for the Ukrainian government, which he said were key to determining who shot down the Malaysian airline.

"Answers to these questions would allow all of us, not only in Russia but also in the West and the east, in Asia, to try and find an answer to the most important question: what happened in the sky over Ukraine and what we need to do so that this does not happen again," Antonov said.

He said Kiev should release details regarding its alleged use of Buk missile systems in eastern Ukraine, and explain why they were being operated if separatists don't possess aircraft.

The Russian defence ministry on Friday claimed that the radars of Ukraine's Buk missile systems -- the weapon thought to have been used to shoot down the jet -- were in use on the day of the crash.

Antonov added that Ukraine's armed forces should give international experts access to documents relating to their air-to-air missiles and ground-to-air missiles.

He also wondered why Ukrainian air-traffic controllers had allowed the passenger jet to stray to the north, in the direction of a conflict zone.

http://www.enca.com/failure-secure-mh17-crash-site-betrayal-lives-lost-malaysia

 

[LazyLion]

RELATIVES WAIT TO FLY TO MH17 UKRAINE CRASH SITE

Relatives of the 192 Dutch victims of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 are waiting near Amsterdam's Schiphol airport to fly to the crash site in Ukraine, the airline said on Saturday.

"It's not yet known when the families will go," an airline spokeswoman told AFP, asking not to be named.

Relatives of the Dutch victims and others among the 298 killed in Thursday's disaster over a rebel-held part of Ukraine are gathering at a hotel outside Schiphol, from where the doomed flight took off.

"There is a plane ready to fly to Kiev, but the accident happened 500 kilometres (around 300 miles) from Kiev, so that's very complex logistically," the spokeswoman said.

"They're still evaluating how to do that and what the safest way is," the spokeswoman said. She could not say how many relatives had expressed a desire to go to the crash site.

"This isn't just for security reasons, if many people want to go that implies a lot of logistical organisation."

Ukraine has said that separatist forces are blocking access to the site in the east of the country for Ukrainian investigators and international observers.

US President Barack Obama has said the plane was shot down by a missile launched from an area controlled by Russian-backed separatists in Ukraine.


Source : Sapa-AFP /ns
Date : 19 Jul 2014 14:55

 

[genetic]

It was only a matter of time before evidence was tampered with.

 

[LazyLion]

FORENSIC EXPERTS GATHER MATERIAL TO ID VICTIMS
By MIKE CORDER
Associated Press

Forensic teams fanned out across the Netherlands on Saturday to collect material including DNA samples that will help positively identify the remains of victims killed in the downing of the Malaysia Airlines plane over Ukraine.

Police said in a tweet that 40 pairs of detectives from the National Forensic Investigations Team would be visiting victims' relatives over the coming days.

Their aims is to build a database of material including DNA and photographs of distinguishing features like scars and tattoos that can be used to identify bodies and body parts recovered from the crash site in eastern Ukraine. Malaysia Airlines said 192 of the 298 passengers and crew killed in Thursday's aviation disaster were Dutch.

The European Union police coordination body Europol said Saturday it would assist Interpol and other agencies in identifying victims in Ukraine.

"We will do our utmost to support the work that must be done following this horrific incident, where hundreds of families and friends to the innocent victims on board Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 are grieving and left with unanswered questions," Europol Director Rob Wainwright said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Malaysia Airlines said it is assessing security in Ukraine before taking a decision about possibly flying next of kin to the country where their family members lost their lives.

A spokesman for the airline said family members were being cared for in Amsterdam while a team from the carrier, including security officials, is in Ukraine assessing the situation.

The spokesman, who declined to be named in line with company policy, said the team was trying to travel "500 kilometers (310 miles) through difficult territory" to reach the area where wreckage of the Boeing 777 landed.

On Friday, regional vice president of the airline, Huib Gorter, told reporters, "It's an extremely complex area where the aircraft went down, so we need to be assured of the safety, logistics everything can be done well. If we do it, we've got to do it well."

Dutch newspapers carried pages of photos and stories Saturday about the dead. Travelers flying out of Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport laid flowers and signed a condolence book before boarding their flights, including Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 to Kuala Lumpur.

"I am not really afraid. It's good that they kept the same flight number," Mirelle Geervliet said as she prepared to board the aircraft. "It doesn't change anything. If you change the number, people will start to be afraid."

Former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, on a visit to the Netherlands, was among those who signed the condolence book at the airport.

"This is a real tragedy - a tragedy for families, for nations and for the HIV AIDS community," Annan said, referring to several AIDS researchers who were on the doomed flight. "We should all hope that a thorough international investigation will be conducted and we will know what happened and the culprits should be held to account."

Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans was in Kiev on Saturday, pushing for a fully independent, international probe into the downing of the plane, a day after Prime Minister Mark Rutte steered clear of apportioning blame but vowed not to rest until the perpetrators are brought to justice if it is proven to be an attack.


Source : Sapa-AP /ns
Date : 19 Jul 2014 14:53