MOSCOW, September 9 (RIA Novosti) – The Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak welcomed Tuesday’s publication of a preliminary investigation report into the causes of Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 crash in eastern Ukraine in July, and said the document was a result of a joint effort.
Razak also highlighted the importance of thorough further investigations, and unhampered access to the crash site for the experts.
“I call on all sides to cooperate closely in order to help the investigation and to produce the final report,” a statement on Razak’s official website says.
Today, a preliminary report on the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 crash was issued, which determined that the plane fell into pieces mid-flight after being hit by “a large number of high-energy objects,” however more research is required in order to specify the exact cause of the accident.
Earlier today, Dutch Safety Board spokeswoman Sara Vernooij confirmed that the final report is due to be published by next summer.
On Saturday night, the Malaysian Minister of Defense, Hishamuddin Hussein, and a group of 30 Malaysian experts arrived in Kiev in order to carry out further investigations into the causes of MH17 crash.
On July 17, a Malaysia Airlines flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur crashed in Ukraine’s eastern region of Donetsk. None of the 298 people on board survived the crash.
The reason for the crash is a matter of debate. Kiev accuses independence supporters in eastern Ukraine of shooting the plane down, but cannot provide any evidence for this assertion. The local militia leaders assert that they do not have weapons capable of shooting down a plane flying at 32,000 feet.
