Malaysia Airlines plane crash: Rebels hand over black boxes
KIEV, Ukraine (KABC) -- Four days after a Malaysia Airlines plane was shot down in eastern Ukraine, pro-Russian rebels bowed to international pressure and released a train packed with bodies and handed over the plane's flight data and cockpit voice recorders.
The bodies of the 298 victims, most from the Netherlands, have become a part of the conflict in Ukraine because they could hold evidence of what brought the plane down last Thursday as it was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.
Malaysia's prime minister said he reached a deal with the leader of the pro-Russian rebels to allow "safe access" to the site where Flight 17 was shot down by a missile.
A rebel leader, Alexander Borodai, said the flight recorders were being handed over to Malaysian officials on the condition that they would be delivered to experts at the International Civil Aviation Organization.
"I can see that the black box is intact even though a little bit damaged, but in a good condition," Col. Mohamad Sakri of the Malaysian National Security Council said.
The black boxes could offer vital clues, including the sound of the missile hitting the aircraft and the plane's altitude and position.
President Barack Obama earlier called for international investigators to have "immediate and full access" to the crash site. Mr. Obama accused pro-Russian separatists in the area of removing evidence and bodies from the scene.
"Families deserve to be able to lay their loved ones to rest with dignity. The world deserves to know exactly what happened," Mr. Obama said.
"They have repeatedly prevented international investigators from gaining full access to the wreckage. As investigators approached, they fired their weapons into the air," Mr. Obama said. The separatists are removing evidence from the crash site, all of which begs the question, what exactly are they trying to hide?"
Outrage over the delays and the possible tampering of evidence was building worldwide, especially in the Netherlands, where 192 of the 298 victims were Dutch and another was Dutch-American.
Experts from the Dutch National Forensic Investigations Team, which specializes in victim recovery and identification, called for a full forensic sweep of the site.
Ukraine continues accusing Russia of aiding the rebels in the shoot-down. Mr. Obama said at a news conference Monday that the burden is on Russia and President Vladimir Putin to compel the separatists to cooperate with the investigation.
The U.N. Security Council adopting a resolution Monday, demanded full access to the crash site.
"All parties are required to fully cooperate with these efforts. Russia must use its influence of the separatists to ensure this," Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said. "Russia must also use its influence to bring the conflict in the Ukraine to an end."
Fighting flared again Monday between the separatists and government troops in the eastern rebel-held city of Donetsk. City authorities said battles were taking place near the town's airport and warned residents to stay inside.
Fighting began in mid-April between the government and the Russian-speaking separatists in eastern Ukraine after Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula a month earlier.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
