MH17 remains arrive in Malaysia

Flags flew at half-mast in Malaysia on Friday as the remains of 20 of the country's nationals who perished in the crash of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 arrived at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

The flight from Amsterdam was met by relatives of the victims, as well as senior government officials.

Malaysian King Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah and Prime Minister Najib Razak were among those who took part in a ceremony to receive the coffins and urns at the airport.

Eleven of the victims whose remains arrived on Friday were passengers on the flight, while the other nine were crew members.

So far a total of 30 Malaysian citizens are reported to have been identified by an international team of forensics experts in the Netherlands. A total of 43 Malaysians were on the flight, which is suspected to have been shot down over eastern Ukraine on July 17.

Only the Netherlands, with 193 victims, had a higher death toll from the downing of flight MH17.

The West has accused pro-Russian separatists of shooting down the plane, which was on its way to Kuala Lumpur from Amsterdam, while Moscow has blamed Kyiv.

The investigation into the cause of the crash, as well as the recovery of bodies have been severely hampered by fighting near the site of the crash. The search for remains was called off earlier this month due to renewed clashes between Ukrainian government troops and the rebels.

The DPA news agency quoted Defense Minister Hishammuddin Hussein as saying that more remains of Malaysian victims would be flown home from the Netherlands on Sunday.

The crash of MH17 came four months after another Malaysia Airlines plane, with 239 people on board, disappeared without a trace while flying between Kuala Lumpur and Beijing on March 8.

pfd/jr (dpa, AFP)