Rebels accused of taking bodies from MH17 site

Published: 1:45PM Saturday July 19, 2014

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  Propeller from stricken Malaysia Airlines plane. - Source: ONE News

Ukraine is accusing Russia of assisting separatist rebels in destroying evidence at the crash site of a Malaysia Airlines plane shot down with 298 people onboard.

The government said Saturday that militiamen have removed 38 bodies from the crash site and have taken them to the rebel-held city of Donetsk. It says the bodies were transported with the assistance of specialists with distinct Russian accents.

Ukraine called on Moscow to insist that the pro-Russia rebels grant international experts the ability to conduct a thorough investigation into the downing of the plane - a demand that President Barack Obama issued yesterday.

An international delegation has visited the crash site but was only allowed to view one small portion. Militiamen behaved aggressively and eventually ordered the team to leave.

Meanwhile, US Ambassador Samantha Power told an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council today that the United States cannot rule out that Russia helped in the launch of the surface-to-air missile that shot down MH17.

Power said the US believes the plane was likely downed by an SA-11 missile fired from an area in eastern Ukraine controlled by pro-Russian separatists. She said Russia has provided SA-11s and other heavy weapons to the separatists.

The Malaysian jet was flying at a cruising altitude of 10,000 metres from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on an established flight corridor when it was shot down yesterday, Power said.