MH17 Crash: 80 Bodies Could Be at Site, Official Says

MH17 crash: 80 bodies could be at site, official says
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
NEW: "Time is no longer on our side," OSCE spokesman says
Australian foreign minister: Monitors face "grisly and sobering task" at crash site
As many as 80 bodies could still be lying in the fields of eastern Ukraine, she says
Ukraine Parliament agrees nations with citizens on MH17 can send armed personnel
Kiev, Ukraine (CNN) -- It's a staggering figure, two weeks after Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot
out of the sky.
As many as 80 bodies could still be lying in the fields of eastern Ukraine where the passenger jet
crashed, Australia's foreign minister told CNN on Thursday.
"But we won't know until our investigative teams are on the site and combing the crash site for
remains," Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said. "And that's the grisly and sobering task that they must
undertake from now on."
And getting to the crash site isn't as simple as it sounds.
Police secure a refrigerated train loaded with bodies of passengers from Malaysia Airlines Flight 17
as it arrives in a Kharkiv, Ukraine, factory on Tuesday, July 22. The United States says a surface-t-
-air missile took down the Boeing 777 on Thursday, July 17, as it was flying over Ukraine from
Amsterdam, Netherlands, to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, killing all 298 people aboard. Ukrainian
officials have accused pro-Russian rebels of downing the jet, but Russia blames Ukraine's recent
military operations against the rebels.
Malaysia Airlines jet crashes in Ukraine
HIDE CAPTION
Investigation at the site as been delayed for days by dangerous fighting in the area.
Monitors from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe reached the crash site on
Thursday, accompanied by two Dutch and two Australian experts. The monitors used a new route to
access the site.
Many coffins holding remains -- collected in the first week after the disaster -- already have been
flown to the Netherlands, where the flight originated July 17. But monitors who've gained sporadic
access to the site have said bodies and victims' belongings still lie scattered across huge debris
fields.
Experts marked locations where they spotted human remains on Thursday, OSCE spokesman
Michael Bociurkiw said. They hope to continue investigating Friday, he said, and may use cadaver
dogs and aerial surveillance to search the scene.
"This all goes back to time is of the essence," he told CNN's Anderson Cooper. "Everyone realizes
that time is no longer on our side, that this investigation has to kick-start into high gear right away."
The team at the site observed a moment's silence to mark two weeks to the day since the plane -- en
route from Amsterdam to Malaysia -- plummeted to Earth near the Russian border in rural eastern
Ukraine, killing all 298 people aboard.
U.S. and Ukrainian officials have alleged that a Russian-made missile system downed the plane from
rebel-held territory; Russia and the rebel fighters deny involvement.
The team's arrival came as Ukraine's military announced a one-day cease-fire Thursday to allow
international experts full access.
A statement issued by the Ukrainian Counter-Terrorist Operation's press center said the military
would not take offensive action but will "respond to direct attacks."
The statement also accused the rebels of continued violence, including firing Grad rocket systems
Thursday morning. "This demonstrates their attitude towards Ukraine and the international
community," it said.
'Bittersweet' progress
Bociurkiw said the team of eight OSCE personnel and four "very senior experts" had reached the site
after six hours of travel -- a journey three times longer than usual.
The trip, which involved crossing and recrossing Ukrainian and rebel front lines, was possible only
after high-level political agreements were negotiated with both sides, he said.
"Although we are very, very relieved to be back at the site, it is bittersweet in the sense that we do
realize that it's two weeks almost to the hour since that plane went down," he said.
The four experts are combing the debris field for a rapid assessment, Bociurkiw said. If the truce
holds, more international experts will be brought in Friday from where they are waiting, about two
hours to the west.
The temperature is nearing 90 degrees Fahrenheit, and the scene is difficult to describe, he said.
"We've been here multiple times, and yet it hasn't gotten any easier. There are still human remains
in front of me, we can tell by the smell, and there's so many areas that haven't been properly gone
over, scoured."
Among those areas is a chicken farm not currently in operation where a fair amount of debris has
been spotted. Human remains may be there, too.
Although the observers saw evidence of tampering with the wreckage in the first few days, there are
no obvious signs of change over the past week from what he's seen, Bociurkiw said.
What we found at MH17 crash site
'Long walk towards justice'
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak met in the Netherlands
to discuss the international response to the crash.
Rutte said the Netherlands and Malaysia share three priorities in dealing with the crash: the
repatriation of the victims and their personal belongings, "obtaining clarity" on the cause of the
accident and making sure the perpetrators are brought to justice. He said that repatriation of the
victims was the highest priority.
Najib also called for a cessation of hostilities by both sides around the crash site and "full and
unfettered" access to the area.
With such access, authorities will be able "to find out what happened to MH17" and will be able "to
achieve justice for the victims and their families," he said.
"We ask that all sides respect the lives lost, and the integrity of the site, so that the investigation
may proceed. The long walk towards justice begins with this step."
Netherlands, whose citizens made up about two-thirds of those killed in the crash, is leading the
international investigation.
Rutte said 68 police officers from Malaysia had arrived in Kiev, Ukraine, and would try to reach the
crash site area. In addition, 24 Malaysian experts are aiding in efforts to identify victims' remains in
the Netherlands, he said.
After their statements, Najib signed a book of condolences for the Dutch victims. Malaysia suffered
the loss of 43 nationals in the crash, including 15 crew and two infants.
Lawmakers vote
The Ukrainian Parliament ratified agreements with the Netherlands and Australia on Thursday that
will allow both countries to send teams -- including police, civilian and armed personnel -- to eastern
Ukraine to carry out the investigation.
Other countries that had citizens on board MH17, such as Malaysia, can also send teams, but there
can be no more than 700 armed personnel in total, the agreements stipulate. Only 250 of those who
are armed can come from Australia.
According to the Cabinet Office, the missions are free to travel within Ukraine to relevant locations
and "have a right to search and gather the remnants as well as investigate the catastrophe."
Australia, which lost 38 citizens and permanent residents, has sent nearly 200 police officers to
Europe to help with investigation and recovery efforts.
A Russian delegation, comprising three experts, is also in Ukraine and hopes to access the MH17
crash site on Thursday alongside international investigators, according to a spokesman for the
Russian Civil Aviation Authority, Sergey Izvolsky.
They will also provide material requested by the investigators, including radar data from the Russian
Defense Ministry showing a Ukrainian fighter jet flying close to MH17, according to Izvolsky.
The United States and others say Russia has provided arms to rebels in eastern Ukraine, including
heavy weapons such as a missile system like the one the United States says was used to down the
Malaysian airliner.
Ukraine tensions prompt Cold War fears
CNN's Ivan Watson reported from Kiev and Laura Smith-Spark wrote in London. CNN's Nick Paton
Walsh contributed from Donetsk and Alla Eshchenko from Moscow. CNN's Mick Krever, Carol
Jordan, Raja Razek, Elizabeth Joseph and Catherine E. Shoichet also contributed, as did journalist
Victoria Butenko.
http://www.cnn.com/2014/07/31/world/europe/ukraine-crisis/

MH17 Crash: 80 Bodies Could Be at Site, Official Says

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