Refrigerated Wagons Carrying MH17 Bodies Obstructed By Terrorist

Trains containing bodies from the MH17 crash site are being blocked by "terrorists", the Ukrainian government has said.
Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said: "We sent two trains, four carts, which right now are in Torez City.

"These bloody guerrillas do not allow the train to leave the area."

The trains are reportedly surrounded by 50 insurgents - but Dutch forensic teams say they have been promised the wagons will be released later on Monday so they can "do their work".

There are conflicting reports about whether the refrigeration systems on the trains are working.

Rescuers have found 272 of the 298 victims - as well as 66 fragments of bodies - in the area where the Malaysia Airlines flight came down in eastern Ukraine on Thursday.

There are fears some of the bodies were incinerated without a trace during the crash.

Michael Bociurkiw, a spokesman for the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, said: "We're looking at the field where the engines have come down.

"This was the area which was exposed to the most intense heat. We do not see any bodies here. It appears that some have been vaporised."

The have also been accusations that bodies were removed by rebels.

Lyubov Kudryavets, a worker at the Torez morgue, said that on the evening the plane went down, a resident brought in the bloodied body of a child aged seven or eight. On Saturday militiamen came to take it away, she said.

"They began to question me: 'Where are the fragments of rocket? Where are the fragments from the plane?'" Ms Kudryavets said.

The blocking of the trains comes despite comments from Russian President Vladimir Putin that "we need to do everything to ensure the security and safety of the observers and the experts working at the crash site".

Meanwhile, Mr Yatsenyuk is willing to hand control of the crash investigation to Western partners.

The Netherlands, which lost 192 citizens, could take the lead.

Two German experts are making their way to the crash site, while six British investigators are in Kiev ready to join the effort.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak was due to make a statement on the crash on Monday - but it was cancelled due to "potential developments on the ground" in Ukraine. The Malaysians would not elaborate. 



Skynews