More wreckage and human remains were salvaged on Nov. 17 on the crash site of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 in eastern Ukraine, the Dutch government said.
“The salvage work progressed well according to the Dutch Safety Board. The salvaged wreckage was taken to Torez railway station, where part of it has already been loaded onto railcars. The salvaged wreckage will later be transported to Charkov [Kharkiv, Ukraine] by train. The salvage operation will continue tomorrow if conditions permit. The safety situation remains fragile,” the government said in a statement.
“Members of the Dutch repatriation mission are securing the human remains found during the salvage work. Forensic checks are being carried out in Charkov. The human remains will be returned to the Netherlands at a time still to be determined,” it said.
All 298 people on board were killed as the Boeing 777 crashed on July 17 during a flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur
Dutch experts came to the conclusion that the crash had been caused by numerous solid objects that hit the plane.
Among the victims were 196 Dutch citizens, 44 Malaysians, including the 15 crewmembers, and 27 Australians. There were also Germans, Belgians, Filipinos, Britons, Canadians and New Zealanders among the passengers.
Early in August an international team was formed to investigate the incident. Its members represent the Netherlands, Belgium, Austrialia, Ukraine, Malaysia and Eurojust. However, fighting between the Ukrainian army and militia forces has impeded the team’s access to the crash site.
