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Malaysia jet crash: Ukraine rebels to allow access to site
by bbc
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 Organisation 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.
Malaysia Airlines said flight MH17 was carrying at least 154 Dutch nationals, 27 Australians, 43 Malaysians (including 15 crew), 12 Indonesians and nine Britons.
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.
In a statement, the OSCE said the separatists had agreed to “close off the site of the catastrophe and allow local authorities to start preparations for the recovery of bodies”.
The rebels would also provide “safe access” to international investigators and OSCE monitors and co-operate with Ukrainian authorities.
Ukraine has declared the area a no-fly zone, while other airlines have announced they are now setting flight paths to avoid eastern Ukraine.
Describing the disaster as a “tragic day” in a “tragic year”, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak earlier said the investigation “must not be hindered in any way”.
The UN Security Council is to hold an emergency meeting on the disaster on Friday morning in New York.
US and Ukrainian officials said they believed the plane had been brought down by a missile.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko called it an “act of terrorism”.
Ukrainian authorities have released what they say are intercepted phone conversations that proved the plane was shot down by pro-Russian separatists.
But Russian President Vladimir Putin 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.
Separatist leader Alexander Borodai accused the Ukrainian government of downing the airliner.
Ukraine’s defence ministry issued a statement saying there were no air force jets in the area and no surface-to-air systems being used against the rebels.
Ukraine has accused Russia’s military of supplying advanced missiles to 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.
The rebels vowed to secure the site and allow the recovery of bodies, the Organisation 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.
Malaysia Airlines said flight MH17 was carrying at least 154 Dutch nationals, 27 Australians, 43 Malaysians (including 15 crew), 12 Indonesians and nine Britons.
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.
In a statement, the OSCE said the separatists had agreed to “close off the site of the catastrophe and allow local authorities to start preparations for the recovery of bodies”.
The rebels would also provide “safe access” to international investigators and OSCE monitors and co-operate with Ukrainian authorities.
Ukraine has declared the area a no-fly zone, while other airlines have announced they are now setting flight paths to avoid eastern Ukraine.
Describing the disaster as a “tragic day” in a “tragic year”, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak earlier said the investigation “must not be hindered in any way”.
The UN Security Council is to hold an emergency meeting on the disaster on Friday morning in New York.
US and Ukrainian officials said they believed the plane had been brought down by a missile.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko called it an “act of terrorism”.
Ukrainian authorities have released what they say are intercepted phone conversations that proved the plane was shot down by pro-Russian separatists.
But Russian President Vladimir Putin 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.
Separatist leader Alexander Borodai accused the Ukrainian government of downing the airliner.
Ukraine’s defence ministry issued a statement saying there were no air force jets in the area and no surface-to-air systems being used against the rebels.
Ukraine has accused Russia’s military of supplying advanced missiles to 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.
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