PM Tony Abbott says two of the Australian victims of the MH17 disaster will be transported to the Netherlands this afternoon, but many bodies are still unaccounted for.
All the latest developments on the MH17 disaster.
The refrigerated train carrying the remains of those killed aboard Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 has reached the government-controlled city of Kharkiv, finishing the first part of a journey out of the conflict zone where they have been stuck for days. WSJ's Margaret Coker reports. (Photo: Getty Images)
12.41am:
The first important step in Operation Bring Them Home was underway early this morning as the initial group of bodies from the doomed Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 arrived safely – and with a carefully orchestrated dignified ceremony – into The Netherlands.
In stark contrast to the distressing treatment of the bodies so far, the Dutch handling of the ceremony was respectful, simple and poignant. Forty black hearses lined up in precision to take the victims an hour's drive away to the north of the country for identification after more than an an hour of careful, and quiet removal of the simple wooden caskets from the two military aircraft that had brought the bodies from the Ukraine.
More than 1000 family members, and the Australian governor-general Sir Peter Cosgrove and foreign minister Julie Bishop were at Eindhoven airfield for the arrival when the planes landed last night at 11.50pm from the Ukraine.
A bugler played The Last Post before military personnel carefully began unloading the first of the 40 caskets and positioning them into hearses, which were slowly driven along the empty airfield past King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of The Netherlands and then past the relatives.
From there, a police motorcycle accompanied the convoy to Hilversum where the identification of the bodies will take place over the coming days.
Associated Press earlier caused alarm when they mistakenly posted an online update that one of the aircraft carrying the bodies had crashed, before quicly clarifying that the plan had landed safely.
11.08pm:
THE bodies of the first victims are due to arrive in The Netherlands at 11.50pm (AEST).
Around 1000 distraught relatives and friends of the 298 victims will be able to witness the arrival of the planes but away from the eyes of the world's media.
Dutch officials have carefully positioned the grieving families next to the dignitaries, but behind a huge wall to enable them to see the arrivals of the coffins but to grieve in private.
In a carefully orchestrated and dignified arrival ceremony, the victims will arrive in two planes, 16 in a Dutch aircraft and 24 in the Australian c-17.
The back of the planes will open and there will be a minute's silence at the stroke of midnight -when complete silence will descend on the country.
Even planes arriving and departing from the local airport were suspended for the ceremony.
The first 20 bodies will be carried by military personnel out of the plane and carefully deposited into individual hearses, also driven by military personnel. Another 20 cars will then take the remaining coffins.
These 40 coffins - the first tranche of victims to arrive - will then depart in for an hours drive in a motorcade convoy to the north of the country to the military base and forensice laboratories at Hilversum.
Carrying the bodies ... a Boeing C-17 of the Australian Air Force at the Eindhoven Airbase, pictured on July 22, before the airlift from Kharkiv. Picture: Jerry Lampen Source: AFP
10.28pm:
TWO Ukrainian military fighter jets have been shot down in the east, according to the country's Defense Ministry.
The Sukhoi-25 fighters were shot down 1:30pm local time on Wednesday (7:30pm AEST) over an area called Savur Mogila.
Defence Ministry spokesman Oleksiy Dmitrashkovsky says the planes may have been carrying up to two crew members each.
8.06pm
The Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte has discussed Australia being part of a peacekeeping force to send troops to East Ukraine as part of a multinational effort to secure the crash site of MH17.
Prime Minister Rutte told the Ukrainian prime minister of the country's options in a telephone call Wednesday night. His remarks have been released by Ukrainian officials in Kiev and reported in Dutch media but the Dutch government has refused to comment.
According to the Dutch media reports their government is "seriously considering'' sending soldiers or police, along with forces from other countries involved in the air disaster on July 17 to preserve the remainder of plane and its belongings. They say Rutte has spoken to Australian prime minister Tony Abbott and others about the plan.
The governments are frustrated that the plane and passenger belongings continue to be interfered with, compromising the investigation into the cause of the disaster.
7.19pm:
A pro-Russian militiaman has said his forces shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, according to a report in an Italian newspaper.
The Independent reports that when the disaster happened the rebel was told by his superiors that they had hit a Ukrainian military craft. "'We hit a plane from Kiev,' our commanders told us. "We thought we'd be fighting Ukrainian pilots landing in parachutes but instead we came across the corpses of civilians, the remains of bodies, along with suitcases and bags," he told Corriere della Sera newspaper.
The paramilitary was from the Oplot fighting unit. He was speaking at the Torez railway station where the bodies were being kept in five refrigerated wagons.
The militiaman would not reveal his name or rank, but the newspaper's website published his photograph with the story.
7.15pm:
"Our pain is intense and restless. We live in a hell beyond hell."
That's the message of Perth parents Anthony Maslin and Rin Norris, who lost their three children, as well as Mrs Norris's father, Anthony Norris, when Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was shot out of the sky last Thursday.
In their first public statement since returning to WA on Sunday, the heartbroken parents said no one deserves the pain they are suffering, "not even the people who shot our whole family out of the sky".
The statement, printed here, was released through the Department of Foreign Affairs today.
Family heartbroken ... Evie, Mo and Otis Maslin lost their lives in the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 diasaster. Source: News Corp Australia
6.23pm:
Wooden coffins were brought out on the tarmac of a Ukrainian airport as the first plane carrying corpses recovered from the crash site of Malaysian flight MH17 readied to leave for the Netherlands.
Australia's special envoy to Ukraine, retired Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston farewelled the first of the bodies of MH17 victims.
"We stand together, united and determined to give those who are lost the respect and dignity they deserve as they make their journeys back to their homelands and their loved ones," Mr Houston said at the ceremony.
Australia's Special Envoy ... Angus Houston speaks at a departure ceremony for the victims of the crash of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 to the Netherlands. Picture: Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images Source: Getty Images
He thanked the Ukraine people and government for their help. Mr Houston stood with Ukraine Deputy Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman and a representative of the Dutch government to observe a moment's silence for the dead before the aircraft carrying their remains departed.
Mr Groysman said the flight was shot down by "shoulder-fired missiles of the Russian army".
"(The passengers) were dreaming about their holiday destinations but the flight was downed," he said.
Honouring our victims ... Ukrainian soldiers carry coffins with the remains of a victims of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 crash. Picture: Genya Savilov Source: AFP
"Those people who are guilty of this terrorist act will be punished." Australia's ambassador to Ukraine Jean Dunn and the London defence attache Colonel Peter Steel also attended the ramp ceremony, along with officials from the Netherlands and Malaysia. The coffins of fewer than 20 victims were loaded one by one onto a Dutch C-130 and an Australian C-17 by the surrounding guardsmen. The bodies are being taken direct to Eindhoven airport in the Netherlands, where they'll be officially received by the Dutch king and queen, and Australia's representative, Sir Peter Cosgrove.
On the move ... Ukrainian soldiers carry a coffin with the remains of a victim of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 crash to a military plane during a ceremony at the airport of Kharkiv, Ukraine. Picture: Genya Savilov Source: AFP
5.52pm:
The first planeload of MH17 victims is due to arrive later tonight in Eindhoven, in the south of the Netherlands, on an Australian RAF c-17 and a Dutch military plane, writes Jacquelin Magnay. The plane will be greeted by Dutch royalty, King Willem Alexander and his wife Queen Maxima, as well as the Australian Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove and dignitaries from all of the 11 nations mourning their losses from the flight.
Journey home ... Australia's Boeing C-17 will transport the victims to Eindhoven. Source: AFP
After arriving in Eindhoven, the MH17 victims will be taken to Oudheusden Kazerne near Hilversum, a town 30 minutes outside Amsterdam.
It's a leafy place, and the military base is in the midst of a soothing forest. A team of 150 forensic specialists has been deployed to the base to help in the identification process.
5.40pm:
This heartbreaking graphic shows the seating plan for MH17's Australian passengers.
5.16pm:
Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston has told Mr Abbott an international investigation of the full crash site is vital because it may uncover more human remains, personal effects or pieces of wreckage.
The full site is about 50 square kilometres and covers farm fields and villages.
"We need a large team conducting a forensic search, a proper scouring of the site to identify anything that may have been missed up until now," Mr Abbott said.
"It might be the partial remains of a loved one. It might be a small, but critical, piece of the aircraft or the missile that is the key to the investigation." New bits of wreckage had been found as recently as Tuesday. Such an intensive search could only be done if the site was secure, Mr Houston told Mr Abbott.
5.10pm:
"It is quite possible that many bodies are still out there in the open in the European summer subject to interference and subject to the ravages of heat and animals," Mr Abbott told reporters in Canberra.
The Prime Minister has "serious concerns" about the collection of the remains.
"It has been up until now quite unprofessional," he said.
"As long as it's possible that there are any Australian remains out there we owe it to the families to do our utmost to recover them."
Site tramped ... a pro-Russian rebel touches the MH17 wreckage at the crash site of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, near the village of Hrabove, eastern Ukraine. Source: AP
4.59pm:
The PM says it is possible the bodies of some Australian victims have been left "in the open at the crash site".
"It is unacceptable for the victims never to come home, he said, and the Australian Government owes it to the families to recover the bodies.
4.55pm:
Tony Abbott says the securing of the site — allowing full access of the site for an investigation — was at the heart of the UN resolution.
4.40pm:
The bodies of two Australian victims of the MH17 disaster are set to be transported to the Netherlands this afternoon, PM Tony Abbott says.
Morgue ... the train carrying the bodies recovered from the downed Malaysian flight MH17 arrives at the Malyshev Plant in Kharkiv. Source: AFP
The Australian victims will be received with honour by Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove.
Based on early inspection of the carriages in Kharkiv, Mr Abbott said "we just don't know how many bodies we have".
"It is possible that some bodies are still out there in the European summer, subject to the ravages of heat and animals, " Mr Abbott said.
The Prime Minister said "we owe it to the families to do our utmost" to recover the 37 Australian victims.
"We will bring them home. We will bring all of them home. We must bring all of them home."
4.14pm:
Prime Minister Tony Abbott is set to give a media conference on the MH17 disaster.
2.27pm:
Australian officials in Ukraine are hoping they'll soon have access to the Malaysia Airlines MH17 crash site.
Retired Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, who is heading Operation Bring Them Home, told the ABC that things are moving quickly near the site and his team should get access "in the near future".
1.45pm:
AUSTRALIAN disaster experts could be allowed access to the MH17 crash sites as soon as today — and are fully braced for the investigative nightmare which awaits.
But News Corp's Charles Miranda can report the area, in eastern Ukraine, remains littered with personal belongins and important flight log books and passports of those aboard the doomed flight.
Sorry sight .... the main crash site of MH17 is left deserted. Picture: Ella Pellegrini Source: News Corp Australia
And, in a shocking example of evidence tampering, local emergency workers have been seen using angle grinders to cut up parts of the cockpit and front fuselage section of the Boeing Aircraft.
Later they used their van with a steel cable on a tow bar to drag the jet apart, unwittingly destroying potentially vital evidence.
1pm:
Former US president Bill Clinton has praised Foreign Minister Julie Bishop for her tireless work in securing a United Nations resolution so quickly after the MH17 disaster. Mr Clinton's speech at the International Aids Conference in Melbourne was crashed by a gang of rowdy protesters carrying home-made banners.
Praise for Australia ... former US president Bill Clinton waves as he leaves the 20th International AIDS Conference at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. Source: Getty Images
11.40am:
Air crash investigators are unlikely to safely gain extended access to Flight MH17's sprawling crash site due to rising tensions in Donetsk as anger grows over the 100 missing bodies that remain unaccounted for.
Ukraine's Parliament has approved the call up of all men under the age of 50 for a military assault on the separatist stronghold, which may hamper the investigation even further.
The multinational team of aviation experts, including three Australians, had hoped to arrive at the crash site outside Donetsk to begin the forensic investigation of the cause of the crash.
Ukraine, however, has ordered a mass mobilisation against the two remaining separatists stronghold cities of Donetsk and Luhansk, the latter of which is expected to be conquered by government troops by this weekend.
Examiniation ... a Malaysian air crash investigator takes pictures of wreckage at the crash site of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17. Source: AP
For the past three days outlaying towns and villages have been seized back by Ukrainian troops with varying reports on the number of casualties.
MH17 DAMAGE: Telltale signs of a supersonic hit
US intelligence officials say it is highly likely the Malaysia Airlines plane was downed by mistake by ill-trained pro-Russian seperatists using an SA-11 surface-to-air missile.
They said Russia was responsible for "creating the conditions" that led to the plane being shot down, but there was no evidence of direct Russian government involvement.
In his first lengthy response since the tragedy, Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed it would do "everything in its power" to ensure the investigation can take place with the Kiev Government interpreting the remark as meaing Russia would further aid the separatists.
Train and bus stations in Donetsk are packed as people scramble to evacuate the city. Shops also began boarding up their shop windows despite the shops having been closed anyway since the chaos began in earnest in March.
Road blocks and separatists outposts visited by News Corp Australia saw an increase in military activity while in the city itself plain clothed intelligence officers are moving about public squares randomly performing identification checks.
Not all victims recovered
Dutch investigators overnight said there were still bodies on the ground at the crash site, contradicting Ukraine's claim they had all been removed.
Governor-General Peter Cosgrove is travelling to the Netherlands to receive the bodies of the Australians killed in the disaster.
"As far as we know at this moment we are talking about 200 victims which means there are probably remains left in the area where this disaster took place," leading investigator Jan Tuinder said.
"We are not sure of that but that's what I think at this moment. Certain is 200 victims that we are taking out."
The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) added weight to Mr Tuinder's assertions, claiming body parts still lay scattered at the crash site.
"There were human remains that had not been picked up," OSCE spokesman Michael Bociurkiw said after visiting the scene.
"What struck us is that we did not monitor any recovery activity in place," he said, pointing out that OSCE observers saw human remains in at least two areas at the sprawling crash site in rebel-held territory.
Horror scene ... Ukrainian State Emergency Service employees collect bodies of victims at the site of the crash of a Malaysia Airlines plane in Grabove. Picture: Bulent Kilic Source: AFP
MH17 'shot down by mistake'
Evidence gathered so far suggests separatists launched the SA-11 surface-to-air missile that blew up the Malaysian airliner, but it remains unclear "who pulled the trigger" and why, said a senior US intelligence official who spoke on condition of anonymity.
"The most plausible explanation ... was that it was a mistake," and that the missile was fired by "an ill-trained crew" using a system that requires some skill and training, the official said.
They said Russia was responsible for "creating the conditions" that led to the plane being shot down, but there was no evidence of direct Russian government involvement.
In terms of who fired the missile, "we don't know a name, we don't know a rank and we're not even 100 per cent sure of a nationality," one official said, adding at another point, "There is not going to be a Perry Mason moment here."
Standing guard ... a pro-Russian separatist patrols the MH17 crash site. Picture: Dominique Faget Source: AFP
Russian operatives have been spotted on the ground in eastern Ukraine but the US intelligence community had no explicit proof that Russians were with the SA-11 unit that fired on the airliner, officials said.
US satellite and other "technical" intelligence confirmed the airliner with 298 people on board was hit by an SA-11 surface-to-air missile from an area controlled by the pro-Russian rebels.
Although the United States had observed a flow of heavy weapons, including air defence systems, into Ukraine from Russia, intelligence agencies had not seen the larger SA-11 missiles being moved into the country before the airliner was downed, officials said.
The Russian military had been training the rebels at a large base in Rostov on various weapons, including air defence systems.
But US officials said there was no explicit evidence of the Russians training the separatists on the SA-11 missile batteries.
THE HORROR OF MH17
Long road home for MH17 victims
A priority air corridor between Kharkiv in Ukraine and Eindhoven in The Netherlands will begin today as Operation Bring Them Home swings into action.
The remains of Australia's 36 victims and the remaining passengers and crew of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 will be prepared in Kharkiv overnight as Dutch investigators led the process of organising transport into the Dutch military base near Eindhoven.
Governor-General Peter Cosgrove is travelling to the Netherlands to receive the bodies of the Australians killed in the disaster.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott says he has asked Sir Peter to travel to the Netherlands.
He will be there for the arrival of Dutch and Australian aircraft carrying the remains.
"It is important for the families and for our nation that our people be received by one of our own," Mr Abbott said.
Mr Abbott says the identification of bodies could take some time.
"The task of identifying the victims is a process that must be conducted carefully and accurately," he said.
"By its very nature, it may take some weeks before we can honour the dead by returning them to those they loved and those that loved them. But we will bring them home." Mr Abbott says the government will transport victims' families to the Netherlands to accompany their loved ones home, if they so wish.
Standing guard ... Police officers secure the refrigerated train loaded with bodies of the passengers of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 as it arrives in a Kharkiv factory. Picture: AP Source: AP
The first flight of bodies will fly into Holland sometime around lunchtime AEST, the Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte announced.
"Recovery of our people remains our first priority,'' said Mr Rutte.
"That is our aim and it is expected that (Wednesday) in the course of the day the first plane with victims arrives in Eindhoven. We will continue until all the victims are at home."
The relatives of the families were all informed by personal phone calls of the arrangements being made.
The bodies will be transported using an Australian plane, a Boeing C-17 as well as a Dutch C-130.
ANALYSIS: MISSILE HIT MH17'S FRONT-LEFT ENGINE
World mourns ... woman lights candles for the victims of the Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Tuesday. Picture: AP Source: AP
Identification could take months
Mr Rutte said that as soon as any bodies are identified the next of kin will be advised, and the remains will be released into their care as soon as it is practical to do so.
But he warned some of the bodies may take months to be identified.
He also cautioned that some of the bodies may not be able to be returned.
REBELS FINALLY HAND OVER BLACK BOXES
Mr Rutte also warned that the number of bodies on the train quoted by the rebels — 282 — may not be accurate.
It could be that around 200 bodies were on the trucks, he said.
The airlift of the bodies involves a shuttle of the planes "in a air corridor between Kharkiv and Einhoven,'' he told reporters.
"They will come in phases.''
IN PICTURES: WORLD MOURNS MH17
From Eindhoven, the victims will be transferred to the military base at Corporal Van Oudheusden Barracks in Hilversum.
This is the same town where the Dutch lost three entire families and the son of a fourth in the plane tragedy.
Tragic journey ... Police officers secure a refrigerated train loaded with bodies of the passengers of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17. Picture: AP Source: AP
Australian forensic experts, including the team from the Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine, led by Professor David Ranson will arrive in Amsterdam on Wednesday and will go straight to Hilversum.
The team will also include mortuary technicians, odontologists and fingerprint experts.
Relatives of the Australian victims have already provided police with DNA and other personal information about their loved ones which will also be used to help the identification process.
Professor Ranson said the work will be similar to identifying victims of the Victorian bushfires or the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami.
In memory ... Two KLM cabin crew reach out into a sea of flowers at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam. Picture: AP Source: AP
But the state of the bodies, which had laid in the hot Ukraine sun for nearly two days before being refrigerated, would not have helped stave off the decomposition.
The bodies of the Australian victims will ultimately be handed to a funeral contractor who will prepare them for the long journey home in specially iced caskets inside the cargo hold of the RAAF's biggest aircraft.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott said the task could take weeks and he did not rule out Australian involvement in a security operation around the crash site.
The United Nations Resolution authorises the presence of security elements on the ground and Mr Abbott said it should include countries whose citizens were killed and he again demanded that the site be secured.
Families waiting ... Police officers secure a refrigerated train loaded with bodies of the passengers of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 as it arrives in the Kharkiv railway station. Picture: AP Source: AP
'It looks more like a building demolition than a forensic investigation,' he said.
Mr Abbott said there was a ceasefire in place around the crash site and that would help investigators to do their work.
'I am much more optimistic today than I was yesterday,' he said.
Mr Abbott said he hoped the co-ordinator of Operation Bring Them Home, former defence boss Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, could visit the site as soon as possible.
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said the UN Security Council's unanimous adoption of Australia's strongly worded resolution sounded a warning to the pro-Russian separatists not to further contaminate the site or hamper investigators.
Sombre ... People attend a candlelight vigil to remember delegates who lost their lives on-board Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 en route to the AIDS Conference 2014, at Federation Square in Melbourne. Picture: AFP Source: AFP
