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Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17

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25 Jul, 2015

Security council MH17 vote set

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The UN Security Council is set to vote on whether to set up an international tribunal to prosecute those suspected of bringing down Malaysia Airlines MH17. Russian ambassador:

Malaysia did include some language from our draft in their draft text but it did not go to the core of our concern, they kept insisting on the need to establish right now an international criminal court. This is not a proper thing for the Security Council to do because it’s not a case of a threat to international peace and security.

17 Jul, 2015

Villagers mark MH17 anniversary

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ABOUT 200 Ukrainian villagers gather on a field that was cleared of the scattered charred remains and personal belongings of 298 people killed aboard Flight MH17. Banners:

Kiev – hold your fire. You were killed. But we are still being killed.

16 Jul, 2015

Dutch investigators: Missile fired by separatists

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Dutch authorities leading the investigation into the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 are convinced combatants based in the pro-Moscow separatist enclave of Donetsk were operating the missile system that killed 298 people last year. Chief Public Prosecutor:

The most likely scenario is that a BUK missile fired from [separatist-held] eastern Ukraine downed MH17.

30 Apr, 2015

Remains search ends

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Investigations for recovering human remains and wreckage from MH17 crash site ends. Mission head:

We have done everything humanly possible…Many more body parts were recovered over the past two weeks in the search near Petropavlivka, about 10 kilometers (six miles) west of Grabove where most of the debris fell….Many personal belongings like watches, passports… and other documents that is of great value to the victims’ families were also recovered.

21 Sep, 2014

German families to sue Ukraine

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German lawyer Elmar M. Giemulla, an aviation expert, says he will file a suit at the European Court of Human Rights in the coming weeks on behalf of three German families who lost relatives when the plane was shot down over eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014. He argues that Ukraine should have closed the airspace if safety could not be guaranteed for aircraft flying in it. German weekly Bild am Sonntag reports Giemulla will ask for compensation of $1.29 million for each victim killed in the crash.

 

22 Aug, 2014

Bodies flown to Malaysia

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The bodies of 20 Malaysian victims are flown home. As the remains arrived in Malaysia, the government declares the first national day of mourning in Malaysian history. The plane transporting the victims departed from Amsterdam and touched down in Kuala Lumpur around 10 AM local time. Prime Minister Najib:

Our thoughts and our prayers are with the families and friends of those who lost their lives. Today we stand with you, united as one.

21 Aug, 2014

Victim’s funeral

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Liam Sweeney, one of the crash victims, is buried. The service is held at St Mary’s Cathedral in Newcastle. The 28-year-old man was a fan of Newcastle United. Newcastle head coach Alan Pardew and team captain Fabricio Coloccini attend the service. A team scarf and shirt were put on his coffin. Prince Charles also expresses his condolences to Sweeney’s father:

My wife and I just wanted you to know how very much our hearts go out to you following the truly unimaginable tragedy of the loss of your son, Liam.

16 Aug, 2014

Families advised not to view remains

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Remains of the crash victims from Malaysia are expected to arrive next week, and their families are being advised not to view the remains. Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Rohani Abdul Karim:

Our counselors have advised the next of kin to not view the remains but if they insist, they can do so at the burial or cremation ground where their private ceremonies may be held. This is because the bodies are not in an ordinary state and perhaps it is best for the families to remember the departed in their most perfect memory.

15 Aug, 2014

Less than half of victims identified

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The Dutch government announces that 127 of the crash victims’ remains are positively identified, less than half of the 298 people who died in the crash. They state that 86 victims are Dutch, and the remaining 41 people are from an additional 10 nations whose citizens were on the flight. The forensic team working to identify the victims is comprised of 100 people, and they are working at a military base located southeast of Amsterdam.

8 Aug, 2014

23 Victims Identified

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The Dutch-led forensic team working on the remains of those aboard Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 says it has identified 23 victims so far: 18 Dutch, two Malaysians, a Canadian, a German and a Briton. The Justice Ministry has said that all affected families have been notified.

7 Aug, 2014

Australia mourns victims

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Australia holds a day of mourning for 38 victims of the crash. Flags fly at half mast and bells chime throughout Australia. A multi-faith service takes place in St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Melbourne, where 16 of the victims had lived. Prime Minister Tony Abbott tells the attendees:

There will be a time to judge the guilty, but today we honor the dead and we grieve with the living. We do rededicate ourselves today to supporting the bereaved, to obtaining justice for the dead and for their families, and to working for a better world.

Victim search halted

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Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte tells reporters the Dutch mission at the crash site of MH17 has stopped. The Search team will return to site, but he does not know when that will happen. The ongoing fighting in the area is making the search too dangerous:

We have done what we could do in the current conditions. Everyone will agree with us that we should not expose our people to unnecessary risk.

6 Aug, 2014

Crash report delayed

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Due to issues accessing the crash site, The Dutch Safety Board delays the release of the official report on the crash. The report is now expected to be released in September. Safety Board spokesman Wim van der Weegen says under International Civil Aviation Organization rules, a preliminary report is published one month after a crash date, but difficulty in accessing the crash site because of fighting between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatist rebels has pushed the deadline back:

It’s a very complicated situation.

3 Aug, 2014

Memorial service for Australian children

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A memorial service is held at Scotch College in Melbourne for three Australian children who died, along with their grandfather, on flight MH17. Mo, Evie and Otis Maslin, aged 12, 10 and eight, died alongside their grandfather Nick. More than 1,000 attended the service at Mo’s boarding school. Their mother Rin Norris says:

When their innocent bodies were shot out of the sky, I stretched my arms as high as I could and screamed for them. Now I see them only in my head. I can’t imagine the memory of their bodies close to mine and the love in my heart will always be open for them. My arms will always be reaching for them.

A video the children made for their aunt days before the crash is played at the memorial: http://youtu.be/PPCvhu2kVSk

2 Aug, 2014

Cadaver dogs assist search

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Two cadaver dogs and 70 search team members are able to secure the debris field at the site. On the second consecutive day of access to the site, they find more human remains and personal belongings at a chicken farm near Grabovo. Head of the Dutch recovery mission:

We would like to thank all parties that have once again facilitated our access to the crash site. This is of great importance to the international police officers, the experts and, especially, the victims’ families.

1 Aug, 2014

Pro-rebels kill 10 near crash site

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Hours before international investigators arrive at the crash site, at least 10 Ukrainian soldiers are killed when their convoy is ambushed by pro-Russian separatist rebels in a town close to the wreckage.Thirteen soldiers are unaccounted for, and four other bodies are being examined to determine whether they are soldiers or rebels.

31 Jul, 2014

Possibly 80 bodies remaining

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There may still be as many as 80 bodies left at the crash site, according to Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop:

 But we won’t know until our investigative teams are on the site and combing the crash site for remains. 

Many human remains have been flown away, mostly to the Netherlands, but fighting between the pro-Russian rebels and Ukranian military have made it difficult to clear out all the bodies. Bishop stated that she received her information from forensic investigators who had visited the crash site.

29 Jul, 2014

Fighting stops investigators

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International investigators and observers are again prevented from entering the crash site because of the ongoing fighting between pro-separatists and Ukrainian forces. The group of 50 Dutch and Australian experts, accompanied by monitors from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), was also forced to abandon its attempts to reach the site because of the fighting on two other recent occasions. The Dutch Justice Ministry says the team is unable to leave Donetsk because

there is too much fighting at the moment on and near the route to the disaster site.

27 Jul, 2014

Fighting cancels crash site visit

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A group of international police and experts cancel  their visit to the crash site due to fighting in the area. Alexander Hug, heading a monitoring team from the OSCE, says it would be too dangerous for the unarmed group to travel to the area from its current location in Donetsk:

The situation on the ground appears to be unsafe … we therefore decided to deploy tomorrow morning. Fighting in the area will most likely affect crash site.

Investigators security pact set

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Malaysia and the pro-rebel separatists in Ukraine reach an agreement to allow a group of international police to enter the crash site and provide protection for a group of international investigators. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak’s says:

I am deeply concerned that international investigators have been unable to properly deploy to the crash site because of the volatile security situation. It is imperative that we deploy a full team of investigators to ensure that all the human remains are removed from the site, identified and repatriated. Everyone who was on board MH17 must be afforded proper dignity and respect.