Ukraine: accusations fly as OSCE monitors gather information about crashed flight MH17
- 10 years ago
International monitors from the OSCE made a second attempt on Saturday to collect information from the Malaysia Airlines MH17 crash site in eastern Ukraine.
There have been accusations that the evidence is being compromised before inspectors even reach the scene.
One local resident told journalists that part of the plane debris had fallen near his house and he had moved it.
“On the first day I removed everything. It smelled too much in the yard. And those pieces that were here I carried to the site of the crash. I have already repaired all the marks on the roof of my house,” he said.
Kyiv says rebels have been ransacking the site and transferring corpses to Donetsk to get rid of evidence.
The prime minister of the self-proclaimed People’s Republic of Donetsk, Aleksandr Borodai, denied reports that separatist forces had interfered with the scene.
“Alexander Hug of the OSCE mission insisted that the scene remain intact until their arrival, because, he said, it was important, and that we had a responsibility before the fifty or so countries that form a part of this respected organisation. We have not yet touched it,” Borodai said.
Britain has called on Russia to do everything it can to speed up the process.
British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said: “This is not about Russia and the West, it’s about the entire international community demanding that proper access to this site is made available, that the victims’ bodies are properly recovered and that the evidence is secured. Russia has a key role to play in that through its influence on the separatists. And the world’s eyes will be on Russia to see that she delivers on her obligations over the next few hours.”
Russia says it has encouraged the safe access of international experts to the crash site.
There have been accusations that the evidence is being compromised before inspectors even reach the scene.
One local resident told journalists that part of the plane debris had fallen near his house and he had moved it.
“On the first day I removed everything. It smelled too much in the yard. And those pieces that were here I carried to the site of the crash. I have already repaired all the marks on the roof of my house,” he said.
Kyiv says rebels have been ransacking the site and transferring corpses to Donetsk to get rid of evidence.
The prime minister of the self-proclaimed People’s Republic of Donetsk, Aleksandr Borodai, denied reports that separatist forces had interfered with the scene.
“Alexander Hug of the OSCE mission insisted that the scene remain intact until their arrival, because, he said, it was important, and that we had a responsibility before the fifty or so countries that form a part of this respected organisation. We have not yet touched it,” Borodai said.
Britain has called on Russia to do everything it can to speed up the process.
British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said: “This is not about Russia and the West, it’s about the entire international community demanding that proper access to this site is made available, that the victims’ bodies are properly recovered and that the evidence is secured. Russia has a key role to play in that through its influence on the separatists. And the world’s eyes will be on Russia to see that she delivers on her obligations over the next few hours.”
Russia says it has encouraged the safe access of international experts to the crash site.