Int’l experts arrive in Ukraine to investigate MH17 crash

Kiev –  A team of 31 international experts arrived in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkov on Monday to help with the investigation of the crash of a Malaysian airliner, which left 298 people dead, authorities said.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk said the team consists of 23 experts from the Netherlands, two from Germany, two from the United States, one from Britain and three representatives of the Australian embassy.

Governor of the Kharkiv region, Igor Baluta, told reporters that representatives of international police organizations Interpol and Europol are among the international investigative team members.

Baluta said that the local government in Kharkov has provided accommodation and working office for the team of specialists.

During their stay in eastern Ukraine, the experts are scheduled to comb the crash site and examine the bodies of the victims.

As of Monday afternoon, rescuers have retrieved 282 bodies from the crash site, according to the press service of the Ukrainian cabinet.

Earlier in the day, Yatsenyuk said that his country stands ready to transfer the bodies of the victims to the Netherlands and suggested that the Netherlands lead the investigation.

Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, with 298 people aboard, crashed Thursday in eastern Ukraine, leaving no survivors. Among the victims, 193 were Dutch. Source: Xinhua