Dutch to renew search at MH17 crash site
Dutch, Malaysian and Australian investigators are renewing a search for body parts and debris at the MH17 crash site in eastern Ukraine, including places previously considered unsafe, the team’s chief says.
“The team is in Donetsk and ready to start tomorrow (Thursday),” Pieter Jaap Aalbersberg said at a press conference in The Hague on Wednesday.
“Our goal is to do everything in our power to bring back human remains, personal belongings and parts of the wreckage to the Netherlands,” Aalbersberg said.
All 298 passengers and crew onboard the Malaysia Airlines jetliner – the majority of them Dutch – died when it was shot down over war-torn eastern Ukraine last year.
Among those killed were 38 Australian citizens and residents.
The Netherlands has been charged with leading the investigation into the cause of the incident and identifying the victims of the flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.
Dutch authorities are also in charge of the criminal investigation into the crash, which took place in the midst of fierce fighting between Ukraine’s army and pro-Russian separatists.
The 30-person team includes five Malaysian investigators and one Australian and will focus on two areas at the crash site including one in Petropavlivka, about 10km west of Grabove where most of the debris fell.
The Boeing 777 was flying at high altitude when it was shot down, scattering debris over a wide area.
While the fighting has abated since a February ceasefire, landmines and unexploded ordnance remain a constant danger said Theo ten Haaf, who is charged with the team’s safety.
The mission is to last “a few weeks” should the security situation permit, he said.
Kiev and the West have claimed that the plane was shot down by the separatists, using a BUK surface-to-air missile supplied by Russia. Moscow denies the charges, pointing the finger at Kiev.
In February, the rebels and Ukrainian government agreed on a truce aimed at ending a year of fighting that claimed the lives of more than 6000 people.
Deadly clashes have continued in a handful of flashpoints.
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