MOSCOW, August 12 (RIA Novosti) – The Ukrainian parliament on Tuesday ratified an agreement that would allow Malaysian investigators and police access to the MH17 crash site in the country’s east.
The agreement allows the Malaysians to join representatives from Australia and the Netherlands. The agreement states that the group of Malaysians that will be allowed access to the crash site should not exceed 90 individuals, including civil police who will be tasked with guarding the area.
The last batch of Malaysian police officers, which attempted to reach the crash site near Donetsk but left due to the fighting in the area, returned to Kuala Lumpur Tuesday morning.
Malaysian Police Inspector-General Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said he was planning to station two police officers — one in Kiev and one in the Netherlands — to continue the investigation into the crash, Malaysian daily New Straits Times reported.
The inspector-general said the team that returned to Malaysia could be sent to Ukraine again if needed.
Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur crashed in eastern Ukraine on July 17. All 298 people on board, including 85 children, died in the crash.
The crash site is likely to still hold the remains of some victims, which can only be recovered if a ceasefire is agreed between Ukrainian troops and independence supporters in the region, the police chief said.
According to Ukrainian authorities, the plane was shot down by independence supporters, while the latter deny the allegations, saying they do not have the means to hit a target flying so high.
