First Malaysian bodies from MH17 crash fly home

A plane carrying the bodies of 20 Malaysian victims of flight MH17, which crashed in Ukraine in July, took off from Amsterdam for Kuala Lumpur on Thursday, Dutch media reported.
There was no ceremony for the departure from Schiphol airport, local news agency ANP reported, with the plane to land in Malaysia on Friday, which has been declared a day of national mourning.
The plane will be met by Malaysia’s king, prime minister and other dignitaries accompanied by a minute of silence at Kuala Lumpur’s main international airport, Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said last week.
The remains will then be taken to the hometowns of the victims’ next-of-kin to be laid to rest.
The Malaysia Airlines plane was shot down over rebel-held eastern Ukraine on July 17 en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, killing all 298 on board.
More than 220 coffins filled with remains have been taken to the Netherlands for identification.
Of those aboard, 193 were Dutch and 43 were Malaysians, including 15 crew members.
A total of 28 Malaysian victims have been identified in the Netherlands, which is in charge of the identification process.
Some victims may never be identified after the search for body parts was called off at the crash site because of ongoing fighting between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists.

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Article source: http://news.yahoo.com/first-malaysian-bodies-mh17-crash-fly-home-155437497.html

MH17: Minute of silence observed as Malaysia mourns

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The plane carrying the twenty bodies arrived at Kuala Lumpur airport on a specially chartered flight, as Mike Embley reports

Malaysians observed a moment of silence following the arrival in Kuala Lumpur of the bodies of 20 Malaysian victims of Flight MH17 that crashed in Ukraine in July.

A specially chartered plane took off from Amsterdam and landed around 10:00 local time (02:00 GMT).
National flags are flying at half-mast for the day of mourning.
Flight MH17 is believed to have been shot down by a missile fired by pro-Russian rebels. They deny the claim.
All 298 passengers and crew on board the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 died on 17 July.
Family members observed a minute of silence following the arrival of the plane
Co-pilot Ahmad Hakimi Hanapi and flight attendant Nur Shazana Mohamed Salleh were mourned at a mosque
A group of Malaysia Airlines staff werre on the tarmac at the Kuala Lumpur airport
The coffins were draped in the national flag of Malaysia
From office workers to train drivers, many among the nation of 30 million observed a minute’s silence as white hearses drove the remains from the airport to private funerals in various provinces.
The country’s public transportation, including the national rail system and Kuala Lumpur’s monorail, paused during the minute of silence.
Prime Minister Najib Razak, who turned his Twitter and Facebook pages black, wrote a condolence message that was widely shared.

At the scene: Jonathan Head, BBC News, Kuala Lumpur
This was a full state occasion. The flag-draped coffins were solemnly shouldered by soldiers clad in white and gold, and the procession of hearses driven slowly past the King and the Prime Minister.
It is unusual for civilian victims of an air accident to be accorded this kind of honour; but then this has been an extraordinary, unlucky year for Malaysia’s aviation industry.
Very little has been said in the build-up to this Day of Mourning about that other flight, MH370.
It must be assumed that the 239 people on board that Malaysian Airlines plane are dead, but with no wreckage, no bodies, and no explanation of what happened, it has been impossible to hold the kind of ceremony held today.
As we watched the family of flight attendant Hamfazlin Sham bury her in a cemetery outside Kuala Lumpur, there was a palpable sense of relief, that at last it was over.
Her sisters were pleased with the large turnout, and the attention they were getting from the government and local politicians. It has taken Dutch forensic experts a month to identify these first 20 of the 43 Malaysians on board. “But at least we had a body to bury”, said one sister.
There has been no such finality for the families of those on board flight MH370.

“Last month, 43 Malaysian lives were taken over eastern Ukraine. Today we mourn the loss of our people. Today, we begin to bring them home.”
“Our thoughts and our prayers are with the families and friends of those who lost their lives. Today we stand with you, united as one.”
Transport minister Liow Tiong Lai said in a statement that the government will “redouble” efforts to bring home the remaining victims.
Malaysia Airlines is organising a public prayer session and a spokesman also expressed the company’s condolences.
Earlier on Thursday, a contingent of Malaysian soldiers met the plane to escort the coffins to the hearses.
All the coffins were draped in the national flag. Three of the 20 bodies have been cremated in the Netherlands.
Investigation hampered
The victims’ bodies have been given to their families and relatives to be laid to rest.
This is the first time Malaysia is holding a national day of mourning for civilian victims.
The honour has traditionally been accorded only to the royal family and heads of government.
Of the 43 Malaysian victims, 28 have been identified in the Netherlands so far, which is leading an international investigation into the crash in eastern Ukraine.
More than 200 coffins with remains of the victims have so far been taken to the Netherlands.
But the inquiry is being hampered by continuing fighting between Ukrainian government troops and pro-Russian rebels near the crash site.
Debris from MH17 was scattered across 35 sq km (13 sq miles) of territory held by pro-Russian rebels



Article source: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-28891322

MH17: Genap sebulan tragedi, ingatan terhadap mangsa terus segar

Suasana sepi menyelubungi galeri khas 'Reflection MH17' di Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Schiphol di Amsterdam semalam walaupun ramai pelancong asing dan rakyat tempatan memenuhi ruang itu bagi memberi penghormatan sempena genap sebulan tragedi pesawat Malaysia Airlines (MAS) penerbangan MH17 semalam.

Hujan renyai di sekitar Amsterdam sejak awal pagi seolah-olah turut menangisi pemergian kesemua 298 penumpang dan anak kapal yang terkorban dalam nahas itu pada 17 Julai lepas, ketika dalam perjalanan dari Amsterdam ke Kuala Lumpur.
Tinjauan di galeri itu mendapati ada pelawat yang meletakkan kuntuman bunga, surat, mesej, gambar, lilin, bendera dan pelbagai barangan sebagai tanda takziah dan kenangan buat mangsa.
Ada yang bertafakur, ada yang memeluk anggota keluarga sambil menangis ketika mendekati sudut yang memaparkan gambar dan maklumat mengenai semua penumpang dan anak kapal MH17.
Kesan titisan air mata juga menjadi sebahagian daripada kandungan di dalam buku takziah di galeri itu, yang menurut petugas galeri berkenaan yang enggan dikenali, berpuluh-puluh buku takziah disediakan di ruang itu sejak bulan lepas.
Seorang pelancong kanak-kanak dari Itali yang hanya mahu dikenali sebagai Leonardo, 10, berkata beliau menulis "Kami akan sentiasa bersama anda" di dalam buku takziah itu.
Seorang gadis tempatan yang hanya mahu dikenali sebagai Maaike, 20, percaya semua mangsa nahas itu pasti dikenangi selama-lamanya terutamanya dalam kalangan rakyat Belanda.
Seorang petugas di lapangan terbang itu pula berkata, hatinya sentiasa sedih dan sayu setiap kali melalui galeri itu dan berharap roh semua mangsa tenang.
Para pengunjung galeri itu tidak ketinggalan merakamkan takziah khusus buat juruterbang dan anak kapal MAS yang terkorban.
Penjaga parkir, Bashah dari Surinam berkata:"Saya amat sedih dengan tragedi ini, dan saya bersimpati dengan negara anda yang terpaksa berdepan dengan tragedi dua pesawat."
Selain pesawat MH17 yang ditembak jatuh pihak tidak bertanggungjawab di Donestk, timur Ukraine bulan lepas, Malaysia masih lagi kesedihan dengan kehilangan penerbangan MH370 yang membawa 239 penumpang dan anak kapal ketika dalam perjalanan dari Kuala Lumpur ke Beijing pada 8 Mac lepas.
Gerakan mencari MH370, yang membabitkan pelbagai negara, bermula di Laut China Selatan sebelum diperluas ke Selat Melaka dan di selatan Lautan Hindi. – Bernama, 18 Ogos, 2014.

MH17: Netherlands wrestles with huge criminal case

17 August 2014
Last updated at 01:21
Debris from MH17 was scattered across 35 sq km (13 sq miles) of rebel-held territory

A month after the MH17 air disaster in eastern Ukraine the investigation still has a very long way to go, the BBC’s Anna Holligan reports from The Hague.

“If you told me a month ago that I’d be happy my daughter’s body was in one piece and not 17 pieces, I’d have thought you were crazy… now of course I am just grateful that she is home.”
Hans de Borst’s only child, Elsemiek, was identified on 8 August. She was 17 years old. Elsemiek is one of 127 victims identified so far by international teams of forensic investigators and pathologists working at a military base in Hilversum.
“They used her teeth and a ring,” Elsemiek’s father tells us. “I told the Family Detectives about the ring. She didn’t wear much jewellery but always this ring. It had the letters ‘Els’.”
The dedicated “Family Detectives” have been assigned to act as a go-between. They provide a buffer between the clinical forensic investigation process and the personal grief of the relatives.
Two-thirds of the 298 people on board Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 were from the Netherlands. That is why the Dutch have taken the lead in identifying the bodies, trying to establish what caused the crash and running the criminal investigation.
Hans declined to see Elsemiek’s body – he says “I want to remember the way she was before”
A shrine for a family of six from Neerkant who died in the MH17 crash
Western governments suspect that the jet, with 298 people on board, was hit by a Russian surface-to-air missile fired by pro-Russian separatists. The rebels and Russia blamed the Ukrainian military for the crash.
Like most of the families, Hans de Borst gave DNA samples a week after the crash. He was also offered the chance to see his daughter’s body in the makeshift morgue. He declined:
“They told me she is in one piece. So in that way maybe I am lucky. But she is damaged of course. I don’t want to see that. I want to remember the way she was before… They took photographs, in case I change my mind in 10 years time.”
Continue reading the main story

“Start Quote

Sometimes I wish I was on that plane too because what’s my purpose in life now?”

End Quote
Hans de Borst
Father of MH17 victim
Who did it?

This is the biggest criminal investigation ever conducted in the Netherlands.

“Never before have we had a murder case with so many victims,” said Wim de Bruin from the Dutch prosecution service, fielding press inquiries from all over the world. Passengers from 10 different countries were on board Flight MH17.
Ten Dutch prosecutors and 200 police officers are involved in gathering and preparing the evidence for a criminal trial.
There are three main questions about the eventual MH17 trial: Where will it be conducted? What crimes will the accused be charged with? How long before we see the suspects in court?
The Dutch prosecutors are still in the initial stages of the criminal investigation, but they have already dismissed speculation that the trial could be held at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
The ICC only takes cases if countries are unable or unwilling to prosecute. The Dutch are willing and able.
Under the current plan, the suspects would be extradited to face trial at the District Court in The Hague. But extradition would require the host country’s co-operation, once the suspects are identified.
Wim de Bruin says they are considering “several grounds and possibilities” concerning the charges.
“Of course murder, but we also have the crime of ‘wrecking an airplane’ and we could use international criminal law – that would mean possible charges of war crimes, torture and genocide.”
The number of missing bodies is still unknown
Investigators examine the wreckage near Grabovo, Ukraine
Lockerbie lessons
It is impossible, they say, to give a time frame. The only reference they have is Lockerbie. Pan Am Flight 103 was blown up over Scotland in 1988, killing 259 people on board and 11 others on the ground. In 2001, a Libyan intelligence officer was jailed for the bombing.
Yet questions remain about the bomb plot – not only the perpetrators but also the motives. In 2003 Col Muammar Gaddafi – later killed in the Arab Spring – accepted responsibility and paid compensation to the victims’ families.
“With Lockerbie it took three years for the investigation and then another seven for the trial,” Mr De Bruin recalls. “And that was with a plane that crashed in a peaceful place. With MH17 the case is more complicated.”
The passengers were catapulted into a conflict zone. The evidence is scattered over a 35 sq km (13 sq mile) radius, across sunflower fields and farmland.
Tributes in a Hilversum church: Three local families and a teenage boy died
And there are concerns about what happened to the debris in the initial days after the crash. Was vital evidence lost or tampered with? Two Dutch prosecutors flew to Kiev but have been unable to access the site in eastern Ukraine.
Some say gaining control of the crash site around Grabove has become a point of honour for the Ukrainian government forces and the pro-Russian separatists fighting them, making visits to the area risky.
On 6 August the Dutch Prime Minister, Mark Rutte, announced that the Dutch forensic investigators and their sniffer dogs were pulling out until the situation calmed down.
More than 220 coffins have been returned to the Netherlands with an unknown number of passengers inside. They don’t know how many bodies are still missing, and not all of the remains have been recovered.
What caused the crash?
A team of 25 air crash investigators is trying to establish what destroyed the plane.
Experts from Ukraine, Russia, Germany, the UK, Australia, Malaysia and the United States are working at the rather nondescript Dutch Safety Board headquarters in The Hague.
Normally with any aviation investigation they would start at the crash site, but counter-terrorism experts feared the presence of aviation investigators might jeopardise the forensic team’s efforts to recover the bodies, so they have been forced to rely on alternative sources of evidence.
Wim van der Wegen from the Dutch Safety Board says they already have enough to prepare a preliminary report. “We are using the voice recorder, the black box flight data recorder, satellite images, information from air traffic control and photos taken by people who were able to visit crash site.”
They expect to publish the preliminary report within two weeks. It will not attribute blame or liability.
From the moment the first remains were repatriated, the Dutch authorities have strived to restore the honour and dignity that was stolen from the families.
Bringing the perpetrators to justice would help to heal a wound that has cut deep into Dutch society.


Article source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-28808832