Pro-Russian rebels trying to destroy evidence: Ukraine

Says rebels have taken 38 bodies from the crash site, are restricting access

Ukraine today accused pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine of trying to destroy evidence at the crash site of Malaysian airliner MH17. 

 

"The government of Ukraine officially states that the terrorists, with the help of Russia, are trying to destroy evidence of international crimes," the government said in a statement on Saturday.

According to govt data, the terrorists have taken 38 bodies to the morgue in (the eastern city of) Donetsk, Reuters reported.

Meanwhile, the Malaysian disaster response team including two air accident investigators arrived in Kiev amid concerns about access to the crash site.

 

A 30-strong delegation, made up mostly of officials from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), who reached the crash site on Friday complained they didn't get full access. They said rebel militiamen only allowed the team to perform a partial and superficial inspection, according to media reports.

 

The plane, carrying 283 passengers and 15 crew members, was downed in rebel territory in eastern Ukraine.

 

As per international conventions, the responsibility of investigating the incident lies with Ukraine. However, doubts emerged if Ukraine could get access to the crash site as well as the two black boxes - voice and data recorders - that have reportedly been recovered.

 

OSCE spokesman Michael Bociurkiw, who was part of the OSCE team, said he was "shocked" to see that bodies were still lying in the open, AP reported.

Malaysian Defence Minister and former Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said the main priority was to ensure security and that any debris was not tampered with. 

Meanwhile, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin to help them gain access to the MH17 crash site. Razak on Friday said that he spoke to Putin and called for an objective, unfettered probe into the crash.  

 

US authorities and aviation experts say MH17 was likely brought down by a surface-to-air missile from an area inside Ukraine controlled by Russian-backed separatists.
 

Ukraine and the insurgents continue to blame each other for the tragedy.

 

Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans also arrived in Kiev with a team of 15 investigators, the national ANP news agency reported. Nearly 200 Dutch nationals were on board the plane.

 

Ukraine said on Friday that up to 181 bodies had been found so far.