Flight path over Ukraine closed following tragedy

SEPANG: The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) had closed the flight path over Ukraine that was used by Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flight MH17 following the plane's demise and established an alternate route.
Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai said the flight path is certified safe by ICAO and no restrictions were placed in the airspace before the incident.
"The route is an approved path used by MAS for decades and 15 out of 16 Asia-pacific countries use the flight path," he told a press conference at Sama-Sama Hotel today.
MAS lost contact with flight MH17, a Boeing 777-200 which was carrying 283 passengers and 15 crew members, and there was no distress call from the plane.
When pressed by reporters to state whether the route was safe to be used as it is currently over a war zone, Liow insisted that the flight path has been used by many countries and no restrictions have been placed upon it.
He said many European airlines use the same flight path and there were at least several planes passing through just hours before MH17 was shot down by what seems to be a surface-to-air missile.
Liow also confirmed that all systems on board MH17 were functioning normally and the aircraft was given "a clean bill of health" before take-off.
Meanwhile, he said the Ukrainian government will be taking charge of investigations in accordance to ICAO annex 13, which states that the country in which the incident took place in shall lead operations.
Liow said Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman is in the midst of discussion with his Ukrainian counterpart, and a Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (Smart) to the Ukrainian capital of Kiev among other delegates.
"In total, 62 people - 30 Smart team members, 15 medical staff, 10 Royal Malaysian Air Force representatives, five MAS staff, and two Civil Aviation Department staff - are travelling to Ukraine," he said.
MAS will also be sending 40 MAS staff members to Amsterdam to provide caretaker services to next-of-kin residing there.
Liow said the Ukrainian government had assured unfettered access to the crash site while its integrity will also be preserved.
He said the Malaysian government had received reports that MH17's black boxes have been recovered, but the news had yet to be verified by Ukrainian authorities.
On reports that the black box may have already been retrieved by Russian-backed Ukrainian rebels and it is now on its way to Moscow, Liow said it will be up to Ukraine to follow up on it if the reports are true.
Liow reiterated Malaysia's condemnation to any attacks on innocent civilians and its support for an independent international investigation, and most of all its sympathy to those affected by the tragedy.
He also said there are still 21 passengers whose nationality cannot be determined as they were in transit and did not enter passport control, and the full passenger manifest will only be released when all next-of-kin have been notified of the tragedy.
The breakdown of nationality of those onboard MH17 is as follows:
1. Netherlands - 173
2. Malaysia - 44
3. Australia - 27
4. Indonesia -12
5. United Kingdom - 9
6. Germany - 4
7. Belgium - 4
8. Philippines - 3
9. Canada - 1
10. New Zealand - 1
MAS director of operations Captain Izham Ismail said there are currently no plans to fly the next-of-kin of those on board to Ukraine.
"We are not going to send families to Kiev, we are going to discuss the course of action with them," he said.