THE RETURN OF MH17

MH17 bodies arrive in Malaysia

Nation goes into mourning as first remains are brought home of 43 Malaysians who died when plane was shot down.

A plane carrying the first remains of the 43 Malaysians killed in the MH17 disaster has returned home to a sombre reception on a national day of mourning.

The special Malaysia Airlines flight from Amsterdam touched down shortly before 10am local time bearing the remains of 20 people killed when the plane was shot out of the sky over eastern Ukraine.

Malaysia’s King Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah, the prime minister, Najib Razak, and other top officials received the coffins at Kuala Lumpur international airport.

The government asked the nation of 28 million people to observe a minute of silence and prayer, while flags nationwide were lowered to half-mast.

Authorities had earlier asked citizens of the Muslim-majority country to refrain from festive activities and don black out of respect for the victims. Commuters streaming into the bustling streets of the capital Kuala Lumpur earlier in the morning were overwhelmingly black-clad, while state television aired recitations from the Qur’an and showed photos of the victims.

The flight arrived from Amsterdam, where remains have been taken for identification by Dutch authorities, who are leading investigations into the disaster.

All 298 on board the Amsterdam-Kuala Lumpur flight were killed, including 193 Dutch nationals.

The national day of mourning was the first ever to be held by Malaysia for ordinary citizens. Such observances had previously been held on the deaths of some kings and other leaders.

Russian-backed separatists have been accused of shooting down MH17, but Moscow blames Ukraine.

The 43 Malaysian dead include 15 Malaysia Airlines crew members.

The tragedy compounded the country’s grief over the troubling and still-unexplained disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 four months earlier.

Malaysia said 30 of its citizens on board MH17 had been identified and further remains would return in the coming days.

The search for further remains was called off earlier in August due to clashes between Kiev and the pro-Moscow rebels.