MH17 victims put on refrigerated train bound

for unknown destination

International monitors arrive in Torez to inspect wagons accompanied by convoy of heavily
armed and nervous rebels
Railway employees near refrigerator wagons containing the bodies of victims of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 at a railway
station in Torez eastern !"raine# $hotograph% Ma&im 'meyev(Reuters
Shaun Walker in Torez
)unday *+ ,uly *+1-
The bodies of the victims of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 are being loaded on to three
railway carriages apparently with refrigerator capability which are standing at the train
station in the town of Torez several miles from the crash site in the .onets" region of
eastern!"raine#
The /uardian witnessed the arrival of a delegation from the international monitoring
body the 0rganisation for )ecurity and 1ooperation in2urope 30)124 at around
midday local time to inspect the wagons accompanied by a convoy of heavily armed
and nervous rebels#
As they opened the metal door to one of the carriages to inspect the interior a stench
of death wafted out and blac" body bags were visible inside#
5The special monitoring mission in its third day dealing with the incident has now
monitored the location where bodies are being refrigerated in three wagons5 said
Ale&ander Hug the deputy chief of the mission#
56e have not been able to count them as that would be too difficult in this situation#5
Ale&ander Hug deputy
chief monitor of the 0)12 special monitoring mission to !"raine tal"s to a Russia7
bac"ed separatist commander during a visit to MH17 flight crash site in the village of
/rabovo east !"raine# $hotograph% $etr )helomovs"iy(.emoti&(1orbis
Michael 8ociur"iw the spo"esman for the mission added% 5/oing inside the wagons is
impossible without special e9uipment# The stench is very very bad#5
The 0)12 which has had its access to the crash site itself limited in recent days left
in a convoy to return to the crash site#
There have been no international investigators at the scene# !"rainian authorities say
they are setting up facilities for relatives to stay and autopsies in the city of :har"iv
about *++ miles away#
Armed separatists at the scene refused to say how many bodies were in the train
carriages or when they would leave# The train driver told the /uardian he had no idea
of the train;s destination#
The local department of !"raine;s emergencies ministry in the eastern .onets" region
said on )unday that 1<= bodies had been found at the site where the Malaysian
airliner crashed#
5As of 7am on *+ ,uly in the )ha"htars"y region of the crash site of the 8oeing 777
1<= bodies were found5 it said in a statement adding that divers were involved in the
search because the area included a reservoir#
An 0)12 investigator
during a visit to the MH17 flight crash site in the village of /rabovo eastern !"raine#
$hotograph% $etr )helomovs"iy( $etr )helomovs"iy(.emoti&(1orbis
It also emerged on )unday that the !> security council was considering a draft
resolution to condemn the 5shooting down5 of a Malaysian passenger plane in
!"raine demand armed groups grant access to the crash site and call on states in
the region to cooperate with an international investigation#
Australia ? which lost *@ citizens ? circulated a draft te&t seen by Reuters to the 1A7
member security council late on )aturday and diplomats spea"ing on condition of
anonymity said it could be put to a vote as early as Monday#
The draft resolution 5demands that those responsible for this incident be held to
account and that all states cooperate fully with efforts to establish accountability5#
It 5condemns in the strongest terms the shooting down Malaysia Airlines flight MH17
B resulting in the tragic loss of *<@ lives5 and 5demands that all states and other
actors in the region refrain from acts of violence directed against civilian aircraft#5
The !) and other powers have said the plane was probably brought down on
Thursday by a surface7to7air missile fired from rebel territory#
The !) ambassador to the !> )amantha $ower said on Criday that 6ashington
could not rule out Russian help in firing the missile#
The Russian president Dladimir $utin urged the pro7Moscow rebels in eastern
!"raine to cooperate and insisted that an international investigation must not leap to
conclusions# Moscow denies involvement and has pointed the finger at :iev;s military#
!"raine and its western allies accuse Moscow of fuelling a pro7Russiauprising that
threatens to brea" up the former )oviet republic of -= million people# Russia denies
orchestrating the unrest and says !"raine;s attempts to end it by military force are
ma"ing the situation worse#
The draft !> resolution 5calls on all states and actors in the region to cooperate fully in
relation to the international investigation of the incident including with respect to
immediate access to the crash site5#
It 5demands that the armed groups in control of the crash site and the surrounding
area refrain from any actions that may compromise the integrity of the crash site and
immediately provide safe secure full and unfettered access to the site and
surrounding area5#
The 0)12 said on )aturday it had been allowed to see more of the crash site though
gunmen stopped them approaching some of the wrec"age#
Russia;s !> mission declined to comment on the draft security council resolution#
Posted by Thavam