Dutch investigators inspect MH17 bodies in east Ukraine

Dutch investigators on Monday inspected bodies recovered from downed passenger airliner MH17 which had been loaded onto a train under rebel control not far from the crash site, an AFP reporter said. There was little sign that the bodies were stored in refrigerated condition.

TOREZ: Dutch investigators on Monday inspected bodies recovered from downed passenger airliner MH17 which had been loaded onto a train under rebel control not far from the crash site, an AFP reporter said.

Each of the train wagons carrying the corpses was opened and examined by two men wearing masks and headlights. The stench from the wagon was overpowering and, contrary to claims that the carriages were refrigerated, there was little sign that the remains in black body bags were being chilled.

The Associated Press reported that the refrigeration system had been switched off overnight, but the reason was not immediately clear. The report added that the cooling system was up and running early Monday, citing a train engineer.

But Peter Van Vliet, the forensic expert leading the Dutch team, said after examining the corpses: “I think the storage of the bodies is (of) good quality.”

The expert, speaking as 50 armed insurgents looked on, said his team would head to the main crash site about 15 kilometres away.

The investigators were accompanied by a team of international monitors from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) who have been visiting the impact site over the past few days.

In the Netherlands, Prime Minister Mark Rutte said the priority is to move the bodies to Kiev-controlled territory.

“The first aim is to get the trains out and let them go to Ukrainian-controlled territory, preferably Kharkiv,” Rutte said, referring to a major city some 300 kilometres away which has remained firmly in Kiev’s hands.

“The separatists have said that international observers must be present when the train leaves… the Dutch experts are international observers… they can fulfill that role,” Rutte said.

Source AFP