OSCE says it did not receive proper access to Ukraine crash site
Gunmen prevented monitors from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe from observing the site where a Malaysian airliner crashed in rebel-held eastern Ukraine on Friday, the rights and security watchdog said.
Calling their behavior "impolite and unprofessional", an OSCE spokesman said some gunmen in the area seemed intoxicated while others would not let the team of about 25 observers look at the wreckage of the Boeing 777.
"We had expected unfettered access, that's the way we work," Michael Bociurkiw told a news conference.
"Unfortunately the task was made very difficult. Upon arrival at the site ... we encountered armed personnel who acted in a very impolite and unprofessional manner. Some of them even looked slightly intoxicated."
Pro-Russian separatists watch as Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) monitors arrive at the crash site of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, near the settlement of Grabovo in the Donetsk region, July 18, 2014. Photo: REUTERS/MAXIM ZMEYEV
He denied that the observers had been fired at by pro-Russian rebels, but said one gunman fired shots into the air, seemingly to scare off some civilians.
Ukraine's security service chief Valentyn Nalyvaychenko said late today pro-Russian rebels had agreed to set up a security zone around the crash site.
He said internationally mediated talks “concluded with an agreement to set up a 20-kilometre security zone so that Ukraine could fulfil the most important thing - identify the bodies (and) hand them over to relatives".
Earlier, the OSCE's permanent council chairman, Thomas Greminger, told Reuters monitors had not been able to secure an access corridor for the crash-site and that investigators had stayed there for only about 75 minutes before setting off back to Donetsk.
The United States said it was "very concerned" about the way the OSCE monitors had been treated.
"Those who say they are going to participate in or welcome this investigation need to give unfettered access and obviously, we didn't see that when these individuals were there for 75 minutes," U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told a regular news briefing in Washington.
The United States wanted to see "a credible, international investigation," she said, adding that the U.S. government had offered to send personnel and resources from the National Transportation and Safety Board and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Psaki said the Ukrainians had accepted the offer and the NTSB and FBI would each send at least one investigator, although it was unclear when they would go.
"And we of course will be responsive to their needs moving forward," she said.
World leaders have called for a rapid investigation into the shooting down of the airliner, which could mark a pivotal moment in deteriorating relations between Russia and the West. The United States and Britain said a surface-to-air missile appeared to have been fired from rebel held territory.
There were no survivors from the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, a Boeing 777. The United Nations said 80 of the 298 aboard were children. It was the deadliest attack on a commercial airliner and scattered bodies were seen over miles of rebel-held territory near the border with Russia.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power told a meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Friday it was unlikely the separatists could have effectively operated that missile system without help from knowledgeable personnel.
Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin called for an "impartial, open investigation of what happened," and warned against any attempts to prejudge the matter.
Bociurkiw said the OSCE intended to visit the site again on Saturday and spend the whole day there. "We unfortunately could not get much done today because of the behavior of the armed individuals and the lack of access," he said.
He said the team could not find anyone to talk to about the airliner's black box, and that it was not clear who was in charge of the territory where the airliner crashed.
"The crash site is a very large area and there may be more than one group who holds sway over that area," he said.
He added that while the bodies had not been touched - they seemed to be lying where they fell, personal possessions appeared to have been arranged in piles as if "for show".
Some of the bodies showed early signs of decomposition.
"As for observing close up the wreckage of the Boeing 777 that was very difficult. The armed guards did not allow us very much leeway to leave the roadway and look at the wreckage," he said.
Grim trawl for bodies at crash site
A guidebook on Bali and a children's card game lie amid the debris of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 as emergency workers pick through the grisly carnage of the vast crash site, recovering corpse after corpse.
Painstakingly, firefighters make their way through the wreckage, stopping here and there to plant sticks tied with white rags to identify the location of some of the 298 victims.
"Anatoly, come over here. There are a lot more in this field," a fireman shouts to his colleague as a light rain falls.
A day after the passenger jet was apparently shot down by a missile in rebel-held eastern Ukraine, dozens of fire trucks from surrounding towns were at the scene.
But with the debris scattered for kilometres, under-equipped emergency crews were clearly overwhelmed by the scale of the tragedy.
Hours after the disaster, an AFP crew at the site saw dozens of severely mutilated corpses still lying at the crash site after eyewitnesses reported seeing the plane disintegrate in mid-air.
A pro-Russian separatist holds a stuffed toy found at the crash site of MH17. Photo: Reuters.
An arm could be seen poking from under a seat lying in a ditch. Nearby, luggage was piled up on a slope.
Two engines, a piece of landing gear and chunks of the fuselage dotted with windows were strewn about.
The sound of dogs barking could be heard in the distance. Separatist fighters at the site said they will shoot any animals that come to scavenge there.
Kiev has blamed the rebels and their alleged Russian backers for downing the plane. But the separatists deny the claim and have vowed to protect the scene and allow investigators access to the crash site.
- The smell of death -
The rebels have also suggested that they are willing to agree to a temporary truce to facilitate the recovery but the sound of faraway explosions can still be heard sporadically.
Along a country road, a mini-bus has been converted into a crisis unit with 18 miners from a nearby pit serving as volunteers.
"Of course it's scary but we can't leave them like that," says Ivan, 54, a miner of 28 years, referring to the victims.
In the background the noise of a volley from a Grad multiple rocket launcher is heard.
"Hear that, there they are again bombing the peaceful population," he says.
There are no crowds of curious onlookers at the scene and the inhabitants of a nearby hamlet remain indoors trying to make sense of the carnage that they've witnessed.
"You understand, it was as if a three-storey building came down but missed us," Pavel, 45, a farmer told AFP as he looked at some of the fuselage lying 100 metres from his house.
"I'm in shock and will never forget it. We really almost died. It smells like death." Another crew of emergency workers walks past carrying a fresh bundle of sticks to use as markers.
One of them lets slip it is unlikely that all of the victims can be recovered.
"We realise that we'll never find all of them in an area of 25 square kilometres," he says.
Ukraine says the plane was shot down. Both the Ukraine government and pro-Russia separatists deny responsibility. Photo: AP.
Australian flags half-mast for MH17 victims
Australian flags will be flown at half-mast across the country in tribute to the 28 Australians who perished in the Malaysia Airlines disaster.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott has instructed all Australian government establishments, here and overseas, to fly Australia's flag at half-mast as a mark of respect to the victims.
He condemned the initial response of the Russian Ambassador to the MH17 disaster and warned Russia not to stand in the way of an international investigation.
"If this was a crime, a crime rather than an accident, it's an unspeakable crime and the perpetrators must be brought to justice," he said on Friday morning.
The House of Representatives observed a minute's silence for the victims of the MH17 disaster in Ukraine. Photo: Twitter.
The Malaysian airliner carrying 298 people from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur crashed in rebel-held east Ukraine. US Intelligence confirmed the plane was shot down.
On Friday, Abbott attacked the Russian Ambassador, who blamed Ukraine forces for the tragedy, calling the primary response “deeply, deeply unsatisfactory”.
The ambassador had been summoned to speak with Foreign Minister Julie Bishop to seek assurances from Russia over their co-operation with investigators.
“These people were innocent people going about their lives ... And they have been killed by Russian-backed rebels ... Possibly with Russian supplied missiles.”, said the Prime Minsister.
Ukraine's government and pro-Russian insurgents had traded blame for the disaster, with comments attributed to a rebel commander suggesting his men may have downed Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 by mistake, believing it was a Ukrainian army transport plane.
According to Russian news outlet Interfax, Ukrainian separatist forces have reportedly recovered the black box and are currently handing it over to Russian authorities.
There was no sign of survivors at the crash site near the rebel-held town of Shaktarsk in the Donetsk region, where an AFP reporter saw dozens of severely mutilated corpses strewn through the smouldering wreck of the decimated airliner.
Debris stretched for kilometres in the area near the Russian border, with the jet's tail marked with the Malaysian Airlines insignia laying in a corn field, and insurgent fighters and fire trucks nearby.
Relatives could be flown to crash site
Australian relatives of those who died on flight MH17 will be offered the opportunity to visit the crash site in eastern Ukraine with other next of kin, Malaysia Airlines has confirmed.
The news came as US President Barack Obama said he would call Prime Minister Tony Abbott given Australia had suffered a "terrible loss".
Australia on Friday also requested the UN Security Council pass a resolution granting independent investigators access to the site.
Canberra's representative on the council further demanullnded that Russia "end its provocations and any support for separatist forces".
Malaysia Airlines intends to fly relatives "at an appropriate moment" to the Ukraine to visit the area where 298 passengers, including 28 Australians, died on Thursday.
"History shows when analysing these sorts of events that people need to go to the place where the accident occurred," vice president Huib Gorter told reporters at Amsterdam Airport.
"There is an emotional need to do so. That is a fact of life."
Attendees from the Melbourne AIDS Conference have been told that close to 100 of the passengers on board MH17 were set for the conference, with Victorian Premier confirming that the flight was to connect with flight MH129 arriving in Melbourne on Friday night.
"Unfortunately, I can now confirm that a number of Victorians are among those who have been killed, although we are not yet in a position to say how many," Napthine said in a statement.
"This is a sad and tragic day, not just for Victorians, but for all people and all nations. The shooting down of a passenger aircraft full of innocent civilians is an unspeakable act that will forever leave a dark stain on our history.
“This has very very real and significance for Melbourne and Victoria and our hearts go out to those involved.
“This is a tragedy of world proportions."
Experts believe the jet may have been shot down by a Russian-built missile launcher with the ability of hitting targets up to 80, 000 feet in the sky.
A Buk missile battery was reported to have been seen in the rebel-held east last night, a Soviet-era weapon with a 70kg missile that is designed for taking down aircraft.
Flight MH17 was carrying 298 people, including 28 Australians, from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it crashed in rebel-held east Ukraine. Photo: Getty.
Aviation expert Peter Marossizeky, from Aerospace Development, told Fairfax that he believes the missile was deliberately targeted at the civilian aircraft.
He said that the transponder on the Boeing aircraft would have provided a signature that any missile equipment would have recognised as that of a civilian passenger jet.
"Anything above 10,000 feet would be impossible except for a sophisticated SAM," he said, adding that surface-to-air missiles are some of the most sophisticated in the world.
"It would be highly unlikely that it would be confused with a military plane."
Malaysia Airlines announced on Twitter the loss of the Boeing 777 carrying 283 passengers and 15 crew, which had been expected in the Malaysian capital.
The senior vice president of Malaysia Airlines detailed the nationalities of MH17 victims in a press conference on Friday morning, confirming that at least 27 Australians, 154 Dutch, 23 Malaysians and six British were on board the downed flight.
A soldier stands on the jet's tail marked with the Malaysian Airlines insignia laying in a corn field. Photo: Reuters.
The disaster comes just months after Malaysia's Flight MH370 disappeared on March 8 with 239 on board. The plane diverted from its Kuala Lumpur to Beijing flight path and its fate remains a mystery despite a massive aerial and underwater search.
The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) said it had recently warned of a safety issue in the region near where Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was shot down, according to the ABC.
Flight MH17 was en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it was apparently blown out of the sky by a missile near Ukraine's border with Russia.
Earlier, Qantas released a statement saying it has flown that route in the past, "but hasn't flown it for several months".
Joep Lange was a Dutch clinical researcher specialising in HIV therapy killed when MH17 was shot down in Ukraine. Photo: Amsterdam Institute for Global Health and Development.
But Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak says the aircraft's flight route was declared safe by the ICAO .
Mr Razak says the International Air Transportation Association had stated that the airspace the aircraft was traversing was not subject to restrictions.
Aviation security expert Chris Yates has told Radio National air traffic controllers should have warned the airliner of the danger.
"The aircraft perhaps should not have been in that area at that time and that ultimately is the fault of the air traffic control authorities, who should perhaps have warned all civil aircraft [who were] operating near the zone to avoid it if at all possible," he said.
In a press conference on Friday morning, the Malaysian PM promised to investigate the tragedy.
"Authorities believe the plane was shot down. At this stage, however, Malaysia is unable to verify the cause of this tragedy," he said.
"But we must, and we will, find out precisely what happened with this flight. No stone will be left unturned."
"If it transpires that the plane was indeed shot down, we insist that the perpetrators must swiftly be brought to justice."
"[I just had a phone call with Barack Obama]. He and I believe the investigation must not be hindered in any way and an international team must have full access to the crash site."
Technical specifications for the BOEING 777-200ER. Photo: AP.
Boeing said it was ready to assist the authorities in any way following the crash.
"All our thoughts and prayers go to the people on board the Malaysia Airlines plane missing in Ukrainian airspace, as well as their families and friends," it said in a statement.
The Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin and US President Barack Obama -- at loggerheads over a new wave of US sanctions over Ukraine -- had discussed the crash.
Obama called it a "terrible tragedy" and said US officials were trying to establish if any Americans were on board.According to comments published in Russia Today, Putin has laid blame on Ukraine."Obviously, the state over whose territory it happened bears responsibility for this terrible tragedy,” the Russian president was quoted as saying.“This tragedy would not have happened if there was peace on this land, if military action in the southeast of Ukraine had not been resumed."
FILE PHOTO: Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 flight MH-17 with the registration number 9M-MRD flies over Poland from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. Photo: Reuters.
Four French nationals and several Dutch were confirmed to have been on board the doomed flight.Europe and US stock markets were sent tumbling by news of the crash, which sharply raised tensions already fuelled by broadened US and EU sanctions.Airlines in France, Germany and Britain were told to avoid Ukraine's airspace following news of the tragedy.
Shot by mistake?There were conflicting claims of responsibility after the shocking new development in crisis-torn Ukraine where fighting between separatists and the Western-backed government has claimed over 600 lives. The official spokesman for President Petro Poroshenko said he believed pro-Russian insurgents downed the jet."This incident is not a catastrophe. It is a terrorist act," Poroshenko's spokesman posted on Twitter.“We do not exclude that the plane was shot down and confirm that the Ukraine Armed Forces did not fire at any targets in the sky," added a statement posted on the president's website.The Ukrainian leader said earlier that "the Ukraine Armed Forces did not fire at any targets in the sky" and vowed "those behind this tragedy will be brought to justice".
The Malaysian Flight MH-17 was brought down over eastern Ukraine killing all 298 people aboard and sharply raising stakes in a conflict between Kiev and pro-Moscow rebels in which Russia and the West back opposing sides. Photo: Reuters
Pro-Russian rebels in the self-proclaimed Lugansk People's Republic claimed in a statement the airline split in two after being shot down by a Ukrainian jet -- which was then shot down."Witnesses watching the flight of the Boeing 777 passenger plane saw it being attacked by a battle plane of the Ukrainian forces," it said.But a social media site attributed to a rebel commander in Donetsk itself said the insurgents shot down an army transporter at the exact site of the Malaysia Airlines crash.
Armed pro-Russian separatists stand at the site of a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 plane crash near the settlement of Grabovo in the Donetsk region. The Malaysian airliner Flight MH-17 was brought down over eastern Ukraine. Photo: Reuters
The comments by Igor Strelkov, top military commander of the self-proclaimed "Donetsk People's Republic" suggest the separatists shot down the Malaysia Airlines plane by mistake, believing it was a large Ukrainian army transport plane."We just downed an An-26 near Torez. It is down near the Progress mine," said the VK page attributed to Igor Strelkov, which is frequently quoted by Ukrainian media."We had warned (the Ukrainian armed forces) not to fly in 'our sky'," Strelkov says in the post. "And here is a video confirming that a 'bird fell'," said the post.The website then provides a link identical to that published by Ukrainian media in reports about the Malaysia Airlines jet.
Ukrainian jet 'downed'The crash came with tensions already soaring after Kiev accused Russia of downing a Ukrainian military plane on a mission over the east of the country on Wednesday, the first direct claim of a Russian attack on Ukrainian forces.The pilot managed to eject and was rescued by Kiev forces, Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council said. Russia's defence ministry -- which NATO claims has massed some 12,000 troops along Ukraine's porous border -- dismissed the claim as "absurd", news agencies reported.The dramatic developments on the ground came alongside the already serious fallout from fresh US and EU sanctions slapped on Russia for its perceived support of separatists in the ex-Soviet state.
An Emergencies Ministry member walks at the site of the plane crash near the settlement of Grabovo in the Donetsk region. Photo: Reuters
Moscow condemned the measures as "blackmail" and warned of retaliatory action against Washington, which took a swipe at major players in Russia's finance, military and energy sectors in the sanctions.In eastern Ukraine fierce fighting between government forces and pro-Moscow rebels has intensified in recent days with some 55 civilians killed since the weekend.Germany and France have been spearheading a push to revive talks between Kiev and the rebels over a potential ceasefire but attempts to hold a Skype videoconference fell through Tuesday.Ukrainian forces made a string of major gains after Poroshenko tore up an unsuccessful ceasefire earlier this month, but progress has slowed since rebels retreated into two major regional centres where they have pledged to fight to the end.
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