Dutch back to MH17 crash site as search resumes

THE HAGUE: Dutch officials on Monday returned to the crash site of flight MH17 in Ukraine where the search for remains and belongings resumed with the recovery of items, from soft toys to photos, despite sporadic exchanges of fire.
The Dutch were part of an Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) team that has brokered a return to the place where the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 crashed in rebel-held territory on July 17.
All 298 people on board the flight were killed, two-thirds of them Dutch.
"Four Dutch nationals were at the disaster site, as part of an OSCE team," Justice Ministry spokesman Jean Fransman said.
"Trucks are at the scene to take what is found before they are returned to the Netherlands," he said.
Members of Ukraine's State Emergency Services (SES) are conducting the search for body parts and possessions, he said.
"Some personal effects have already been collected by the local population," Fransman said.
Nevertheless, the 40 SES members involved have already found a range of items including clothing, suitcases, photos, passports, jewellery and soft toys, he added.
Dutch forensic experts called off their search in the area in early August because of the ongoing fighting, with Prime Minister Mark Rutte lamenting the lack of access to the site.
A fragile truce has been agreed in the area, with Ukrainian and Russian officials trying to shore up the ceasefire.
Flight MH17 was shot down on July 17 while flying over insurgent-held territory in conflict-wracked eastern Ukraine. – AFP