Rebels force handover of 196 bodies
KYIV: Armed pro-Russian separatists have reportedly forced emergency workers to hand over all 196 bodies recovered from the MH17 crash site, Skynews reported today.
International monitors and Ukrainian officials said victims’ remains were taken away and loaded onto refrigerator wagons on trains at Torez station which were said to be headed for rebel-held Donetsk.
Kyiv’s emergency officials said 196 bodies have been recovered so far, as a rebel called “Novorossiya” reportedly tweeted that the jet’s two black box voice and data recorders had been taken to the eastern Ukrainian city.
The US has condemned the lack of security at the scene as an “affront to all those who lost loved ones and to the dignity the victims deserve”, while Malaysia has attacked the failure to preserve evidence as a “betrayal of the lives lost”.
The Ukraine government has accused pro-Russian separatists of removing bodies from the crash scene and debris, and attempting to destroy evidence.
Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans said the government was “angry” and “furious” over allegations bodies were being dragged around the site.
There have also been reports that looting has been taking place at the crash site, with drunken rebels and local villagers entering the area and removing valuables they could lay their hands on.
Investigators have expressed fear that these actions may tamper with evidence, thus hampering a thorough probe into the crash.