MH17: Three more remains arrive home

SEPANG: The remains of three more victims of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 tragedy arrived home today.
Flight MH19 landed at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) at 6.30am bearing the remains of Muhammad Afzal Tambi and Marsha Azmeena Tambi, children of the late Tambi Jiee who also perished in the tragedy, and MH17 crew member Shaikh Mohd Noor Mahmood.
The arrival of the caskets were greeted with full military honours at the Bunga Raya Complex at 8.30am. A minute of silence was observed for the victims at 8.48am.
The remains of siblings, Muhammad Afzal and Marsha Azmina will be flown to Kuching in a C-130 military transport aircraft, while Shaikh Mohd Noor's remains will be taken to the cemetery at Sungai Jati Kampung Jawa, Banting.
Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, who was present to receive the remains at KLIA today, confirmed that eight more remains of Malaysians will be brought home, including three that have yet to be identified by forensic experts.
On Wednesday, he had said that forensic experts in the Netherlands have also identified the remains of Liew Yau Chee, Tan Siew Poh, Meling anak Mula, Matthew Ezekial Sivagnanam and Lee Kiah Yeen, but the release of the remains had yet to be announced by the Dutch authorities.
Liow also reiterated that the authorities have obtained a large amount of data from the ongoing investigations but it cannot be released until it is completely analysed.
He said the investigations are being done in two parts - technical and criminal.
Liow also reminded all Malaysians to respect the privacy of the families and next of kin of MH17 passengers.
To date, 224 victims have been identified, 74 victims are still under the process of identification, and out of 43 Malaysians onboard, the remains of 41 citizens, comprising 26 passengers and 15 crew members, have been identified.
Malaysia has repeatedly stressed that it would continue to work closely with its international partners, particularly the government of the Netherlands to ensure that the remaining victims would soon be returned to their families.
MH17 with 283 passengers and 15 crew members on board was believed to have been shot down in eastern Ukraine while heading to Kuala Lumpur from Amsterdam on July 17.