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| More Bodies Possible at Ukraine Crash Site, Forensics Officials Say | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| KHARKIV, Ukraine — Bodies and the flight recorders from Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, destroyed by a missile last week over eastern Ukraine, were delivered safely from rebel control to this northeast Ukrainian city on Tuesday. Forensics officials raised the strong possibility that the remains of many victims still were buried in the wreckage and that identification work could take weeks or months to complete. | KHARKIV, Ukraine — Bodies and the flight recorders from Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, destroyed by a missile last week over eastern Ukraine, were delivered safely from rebel control to this northeast Ukrainian city on Tuesday. Forensics officials raised the strong possibility that the remains of many victims still were buried in the wreckage and that identification work could take weeks or months to complete. |
| At the same time, international anger was still swelling over the mistreatment of the victims — whose corpses lay for days strewn across a wheat field — as well as the pilfering of their belongings and the removal of possible evidence that could determine the weapon used to destroy the plane. | At the same time, international anger was still swelling over the mistreatment of the victims — whose corpses lay for days strewn across a wheat field — as well as the pilfering of their belongings and the removal of possible evidence that could determine the weapon used to destroy the plane. |
| A freight train with five refrigerated rail cars full of body bags lumbered into Kharkiv after a 17-hour journey from the area in rebel-held territory where Flight 17 crashed, completing the initial phase of an agreement reached between Ukrainian separatists and the Malaysian government. Also aboard the train, according to foreign and Ukrainian officials, were the flight data recorders, or black boxes, which were handed over by rebel leaders to Malaysian emissaries on Monday in the separatist movement’s self-proclaimed capital of Donetsk. | A freight train with five refrigerated rail cars full of body bags lumbered into Kharkiv after a 17-hour journey from the area in rebel-held territory where Flight 17 crashed, completing the initial phase of an agreement reached between Ukrainian separatists and the Malaysian government. Also aboard the train, according to foreign and Ukrainian officials, were the flight data recorders, or black boxes, which were handed over by rebel leaders to Malaysian emissaries on Monday in the separatist movement’s self-proclaimed capital of Donetsk. |
| But discrepancies emerged about the precise number of bodies recovered from the crash site. Malaysian and Ukrainian officials as well as Ukrainian separatist leaders said Monday that 282 bodies and the parts of 16 others had been placed aboard the train, totaling 298, equal to the number of passengers and crew who died. | But discrepancies emerged about the precise number of bodies recovered from the crash site. Malaysian and Ukrainian officials as well as Ukrainian separatist leaders said Monday that 282 bodies and the parts of 16 others had been placed aboard the train, totaling 298, equal to the number of passengers and crew who died. |
| Jan Tuinder, a Dutch police official leading a team of about 100 foreign experts who were unloading the train in Kharkiv, told a news conference late on Tuesday that he knew “for sure” of just 200 corpses, but added that “there are probably more” on the train and perhaps back at the crash site. | Jan Tuinder, a Dutch police official leading a team of about 100 foreign experts who were unloading the train in Kharkiv, told a news conference late on Tuesday that he knew “for sure” of just 200 corpses, but added that “there are probably more” on the train and perhaps back at the crash site. |
| Mr. Tuinder said that that he had based this count on information “we got from the people who loaded the train,” and said the exact figure would not be clear until the train had been fully unloaded, which could take at least a few days, or even after the victims’ remains are flown to the Netherlands for identification. As of Tuesday night, he added, only two of the refrigerated cars had been opened, with 50 corpses placed in coffins ahead of transport by military plane to the Netherlands. | Mr. Tuinder said that that he had based this count on information “we got from the people who loaded the train,” and said the exact figure would not be clear until the train had been fully unloaded, which could take at least a few days, or even after the victims’ remains are flown to the Netherlands for identification. As of Tuesday night, he added, only two of the refrigerated cars had been opened, with 50 corpses placed in coffins ahead of transport by military plane to the Netherlands. |
| Ukrainian workers had to clear the track of mud and weeds to allow the train to pass along a long-disused stretch of rail leading to an old Soviet-era tank factory, where the forensics team began removing the bodies. The train still stalled a few yards from its final destination, and workers threw sand on the tracks to give the locomotive more traction. | Ukrainian workers had to clear the track of mud and weeds to allow the train to pass along a long-disused stretch of rail leading to an old Soviet-era tank factory, where the forensics team began removing the bodies. The train still stalled a few yards from its final destination, and workers threw sand on the tracks to give the locomotive more traction. |
| Ukrainian, European and American officials have said a Russian-made antiaircraft missile supplied to the rebels downed the jetliner. President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and the rebel leaders whose cause he has supported have strongly denied any responsibility. But the rage aimed in their direction was reflected in the words of Prime Minister Tony Abbott of Australia, a country that lost 37 citizens and other residents. | Ukrainian, European and American officials have said a Russian-made antiaircraft missile supplied to the rebels downed the jetliner. President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and the rebel leaders whose cause he has supported have strongly denied any responsibility. But the rage aimed in their direction was reflected in the words of Prime Minister Tony Abbott of Australia, a country that lost 37 citizens and other residents. |
| “Anyone who has been watching the latest footage would appreciate that there is still a long, long way to go. After the crime comes the cover-up,” Mr. Abbott said, in reaction to images of separatist militants seen rummaging through the wreckage. “What we have seen is evidence tampering on an industrial scale and obviously that has to stop.” | “Anyone who has been watching the latest footage would appreciate that there is still a long, long way to go. After the crime comes the cover-up,” Mr. Abbott said, in reaction to images of separatist militants seen rummaging through the wreckage. “What we have seen is evidence tampering on an industrial scale and obviously that has to stop.” |
| Despite the agreement with Malaysia, heavily armed rebels who control the crash site have so far prevented foreign and Ukrainian experts from examining the wreckage or moving it to a more secure location. Some areas of wreckage have been completely unguarded, vulnerable to vandalism. | Despite the agreement with Malaysia, heavily armed rebels who control the crash site have so far prevented foreign and Ukrainian experts from examining the wreckage or moving it to a more secure location. Some areas of wreckage have been completely unguarded, vulnerable to vandalism. |
| Volodymyr Groysman, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister, who is leading a Ukrainian team handling the Malaysia Airlines disaster, said that the pro-Russian rebels had slowed the repatriation of bodies and efforts to investigate responsibility for the downing of the plane. “Unfortunately, it has taken a long time for the train to get here from the crash site, because of obstructions created by the bandits and terrorists,” he said in Kharkiv, using the Ukraine government’s terminology for the pro-Russia separatists. | Volodymyr Groysman, Ukraine’s deputy prime minister, who is leading a Ukrainian team handling the Malaysia Airlines disaster, said that the pro-Russian rebels had slowed the repatriation of bodies and efforts to investigate responsibility for the downing of the plane. “Unfortunately, it has taken a long time for the train to get here from the crash site, because of obstructions created by the bandits and terrorists,” he said in Kharkiv, using the Ukraine government’s terminology for the pro-Russia separatists. |
| Mr. Groysman scoffed at the agreement between Malaysian representatives and rebel leaders in Donetsk as “not worth the paper it is written on.” | Mr. Groysman scoffed at the agreement between Malaysian representatives and rebel leaders in Donetsk as “not worth the paper it is written on.” |
| Flight 17 was hit at 33,000 feet en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, last Thursday, exploding and crashing about 20 miles from the Russia border. All aboard were killed; two-thirds of them Dutch, and the rest from 10 other countries. | Flight 17 was hit at 33,000 feet en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, last Thursday, exploding and crashing about 20 miles from the Russia border. All aboard were killed; two-thirds of them Dutch, and the rest from 10 other countries. |
| Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain said in a Twitter message on Tuesday that the Malaysians had asked forensics experts in Britain to investigate the contents of the black boxes, which could provide some clues into what was happening aboard the aircraft immediately before its destruction. | Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain said in a Twitter message on Tuesday that the Malaysians had asked forensics experts in Britain to investigate the contents of the black boxes, which could provide some clues into what was happening aboard the aircraft immediately before its destruction. |
| Mr. Groysman said that Ukraine had asked the Netherlands to lead an international investigation into what he called “a terrible terrorist act.” The black boxes, he said, would by examined in London by specialists from the Netherlands and the International Civil Aviation Organization, a United Nations agency. | Mr. Groysman said that Ukraine had asked the Netherlands to lead an international investigation into what he called “a terrible terrorist act.” The black boxes, he said, would by examined in London by specialists from the Netherlands and the International Civil Aviation Organization, a United Nations agency. |
| Anxious to pre-empt possible allegations from Russia and the rebels that Ukraine has itself tampered with evidence in an effort to skew the investigation toward them, Mr. Groysman said the black boxes “had not been under the control of the Ukrainian side for a single minute.” | Anxious to pre-empt possible allegations from Russia and the rebels that Ukraine has itself tampered with evidence in an effort to skew the investigation toward them, Mr. Groysman said the black boxes “had not been under the control of the Ukrainian side for a single minute.” |
| Ester Naber, a Dutch police spokeswoman, said the victims would all be placed in new body bags, put into wooden coffins, and flown to the Netherlands in a process that would most likely start Wednesday. She said the bodies would be flown to a military airfield at Eindhoven and transferred to a military base at Hilversum. | Ester Naber, a Dutch police spokeswoman, said the victims would all be placed in new body bags, put into wooden coffins, and flown to the Netherlands in a process that would most likely start Wednesday. She said the bodies would be flown to a military airfield at Eindhoven and transferred to a military base at Hilversum. |
| The victims will be returned to their home countries once identifications have been completed, a process that Ms. Naber said “could take weeks or even months, depending on the state of the bodies.” | The victims will be returned to their home countries once identifications have been completed, a process that Ms. Naber said “could take weeks or even months, depending on the state of the bodies.” |
| At the crash site on Tuesday. the scene had changed yet again, with rescue workers entirely gone, and even their tents packed up, said Michael Bociurkiw, a spokesman for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which has deployed a team of monitors in rebel-held territory. Even the security detail the rebels provided to the monitors seemed to have been downgraded, with smaller numbers of guards. | At the crash site on Tuesday. the scene had changed yet again, with rescue workers entirely gone, and even their tents packed up, said Michael Bociurkiw, a spokesman for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which has deployed a team of monitors in rebel-held territory. Even the security detail the rebels provided to the monitors seemed to have been downgraded, with smaller numbers of guards. |
| “We saw a few villagers, but that’s about it,” he said. “To see all the tents gone too, that’s very unexpected.” | “We saw a few villagers, but that’s about it,” he said. “To see all the tents gone too, that’s very unexpected.” |
| Mr. Bociurkiw said three Malaysian experts accompanied O.S.C.E. monitors, spending several hours looking at three major areas of the crash site. Many personal belongings had been piled on a roadside, and he said the rebels had promised to gather them in one place and ship them. | Mr. Bociurkiw said three Malaysian experts accompanied O.S.C.E. monitors, spending several hours looking at three major areas of the crash site. Many personal belongings had been piled on a roadside, and he said the rebels had promised to gather them in one place and ship them. |
| While there have been broad reports of pilfering personal items, Mr. Bociurkiw said they saw no evidence of that on Tuesday. He said they had earlier witnessed rescue workers using a gas-powered circular saw to hack into metal, but he stressed that they could have been trying to retrieve a body. He also said that a bit of the fuselage was propped up, a move that could only have been accomplished with a crane. | While there have been broad reports of pilfering personal items, Mr. Bociurkiw said they saw no evidence of that on Tuesday. He said they had earlier witnessed rescue workers using a gas-powered circular saw to hack into metal, but he stressed that they could have been trying to retrieve a body. He also said that a bit of the fuselage was propped up, a move that could only have been accomplished with a crane. |
| The Malaysian experts, he said, “say there is no evidence of missing parts.” But they did smell human remains — another indication that the work of retrieving all the missing body parts was incomplete. | The Malaysian experts, he said, “say there is no evidence of missing parts.” But they did smell human remains — another indication that the work of retrieving all the missing body parts was incomplete. |