Bodies from MH17 crash begin journey to Amsterdam
A refrigerated rail car carrying the bodies of 282 victims of a downed Malaysia airliner left for the Ukraine government-controlled city of Kharkiv on Monday en route to Amsterdam only hours after Dutch investigators were finally allowed to inspect them.
In another sign of a break in the stalemate over the investigation of the Thursday crash of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, the prime minister also said Russian-backed rebels had agreed to turn over the plane's black boxes to a Malaysian team already in Ukraine.
The bodies of some of the victims have still not been recovered from the huge, debris-strewn crash site near the town of Hrabove.
Armed rebels had kept international inspectors at bay for days, prompting outrage from political leaders in the Netherlands and Australia, whose citizens were aboard the ill-fated jetliner.
"This is still an absolutely shambolic situation. It does look more like a garden clean-up than a forensic investigation," Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said Monday.
"Given the almost certain culpability of the Russian-backed rebels in the downing of the aircraft, having these people in control of the site is a little like leaving criminals in control of a crime scene," Abbott added.
UN calls for probe of plane downed over Ukraine
The U.N. Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution Monday demanding international access to the site of the plane downed over eastern Ukraine and an end to military activities around the area, following intense pressure on a reluctant Russia to support the measure.
The resolution calls for a "full, thorough and independent international investigation" into the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 carrying 298 people in Hrabove and for pro-Russia separatists to allow access to the site of the crash. And it demands that armed groups who control the crash site do not disturb debris, belongings or victims' remains.
All 15 council members voted in favor of the Australia-proposed measure, which was co-sponsored by nine other countries that lost citizens in the crash.
The foreign ministers of Australia and the Netherlands, along with the U.S. ambassador and other diplomats, challenged Russia to use its influence with the rebels to comply with the resolution.
The vote came after a weekend of negotiations to overcome Russian objections to the text, including a phone conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbot.
Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin dismissed the criticism that Russia had allowed rebels to tamper with the crash site but said he was satisfied that the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) would have a prominent role in the investigation, and welcomed the announcement that the Netherlands would also take a lead role.
Australia lost 37 citizens and residents in the crash, while the Netherlands lost 193.
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