Rescuers recover 181 bodies from MH17 crash site
Rescuers have recovered as many as 181 bodies so far at the site of the Malaysian airliner crash in Eastern Ukraine, an official at Kyiv’s Foreign Ministry told a briefing on Friday.
The Malaysian Airline flight MH-17 was brought down in rebel-controlled Eastern Ukraine by a surface-to-air missile on Thursday, said US officials. Russia and Ukraine have both blamed each other for the crash.
Meanwhile authorities in Kyiv released what they claim to be a recording of a Russia-backed rebel admitting to firing the missile that downed the aircraft. On Friday, pro-Russian separatists in Eastern Ukraine are to give international investigators access to the crash site.
Also read: Malaysia Airlines plane ‘shot down’ over Ukraine, 295 dead
The rebels vowed to secure the site and allow the recovery of bodies. The Boeing 777 was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur and was carrying 298 people. All people on board of the plane were pronounced dead.
Reacting to tragedy, Malaysia’s Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said: “Officials in US and Ukraine have indicated that MH17 was shot down. Should this be confirmed it will contravene international law and be an outrage against human decency. Malaysia condemns any such actions in the strongest possible terms and calls for those responsible to be swiftly brought to justice.”