Australia, Netherlands ready to secure crash site

An Australian military cargo plane with coffins holding bodies of some of the passengers of the Malaysia Airlines jetliner that was downed last week over eastern Ukraine leaves for the Netherlands from Kharkiv airport, Ukraine, on Friday, July 25, 2014.
An Australian military cargo plane with coffins holding bodies of some of the passengers of the Malaysia Airlines jetliner that was downed last week over eastern Ukraine leaves for the Netherlands from Kharkiv airport, Ukraine, on Friday, July 25, 2014.

KHARKIV, Ukraine — A small group of Dutch and Australian investigators walked the sprawling, unsecured site where Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 went down as their governments prepared police detachments they hope can help protect the crash area and help bring the last of the victims home.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said his country was ready to send 40 unarmed military police to rebel-controlled eastern Ukraine to help investigators, while Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has said his government is close to a deal to send police. Australia has 90 federal police officers standing by in Europe.

The Boeing 777 went down July 17 as it headed to Kuala Lumpur from Amsterdam, killing all 298 people on board. U.S. and Ukrainian officials say it was shot down, likely by mistake, by a missile fired from rebel-held territory in eastern Ukraine, where pro-Russian separatists are fighting Ukrainian government forces.

Of the dead, 194 were Dutch citizens and 37 were Australian citizens or residents. Both countries' governments have expressed determination to see the dead brought home and the crash investigated. Security concerns and rebel interference have delayed recovery of the bodies and limited investigators' access to the site, more than a week after the crash.

Upcoming Events