This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/02/world/europe/investigators-in-ukraine-begin-search-of-plane-crash-site.html
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Investigators in Ukraine Begin Long-Delayed Search of Plane Crash Site | |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| GRABOVO, Ukraine — Dutch and Australian police officers on Friday were finally able to fan out over the site where Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashed in Ukraine last month, to search for human remains overlooked by local emergency workers. | GRABOVO, Ukraine — Dutch and Australian police officers on Friday were finally able to fan out over the site where Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crashed in Ukraine last month, to search for human remains overlooked by local emergency workers. |
| As wind rustled over the wheat and sunflower fields, the police officers observed a moment of silence in deference to the dead and then spread out, carrying maps, GPS devices, blue plastic buckets and rubber gloves. | As wind rustled over the wheat and sunflower fields, the police officers observed a moment of silence in deference to the dead and then spread out, carrying maps, GPS devices, blue plastic buckets and rubber gloves. |
| “We in the joint operation to salvage all the human remains here and bring them back to their families are very happy we finally touched ground and can send our guys to work,” Cornelis Kuijs, the Dutch police colonel who is commanding the recovery mission, said in a brief statement as the long-delayed search began. | “We in the joint operation to salvage all the human remains here and bring them back to their families are very happy we finally touched ground and can send our guys to work,” Cornelis Kuijs, the Dutch police colonel who is commanding the recovery mission, said in a brief statement as the long-delayed search began. |
| “Professionally, we have an interesting, challenging job, being done in a very polite, respectful way,” Mr. Kuijs said. The police officers, who were blocked from reaching the site for nearly a week by fighting between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russia separatists, are motivated by knowing that they will help grieving families, he said, adding: “I’m happy I can do it side by side with my colleagues. We’re here to do that, and it’s a privilege.” | |
| It was the first day of work at the site for the Dutch-led crash investigation and recovery mission, 15 days after the airliner broke apart in midair. The United States says pro-Russian separatists shot the plane at its cruising altitude of about 33,000 feet with a Russian-supplied missile. The separatists and Russia deny this. The debris and bodies were scattered over 14 square miles, falling in three villages and fields in rebel-controlled territory in eastern Ukraine. | |
| Although the situation in the area was initially calm enough to allow rebels and local volunteers to recover bodies, fighting soon broke out near the site as Ukraine pushed an offensive to surround the rebel-held regional capital, Donetsk. | Although the situation in the area was initially calm enough to allow rebels and local volunteers to recover bodies, fighting soon broke out near the site as Ukraine pushed an offensive to surround the rebel-held regional capital, Donetsk. |
| The Ukrainian military released a battlefield map on Friday indicating that it had succeeded in surrounding Donetsk, and the Dutch and Australian police officers will now operate from Ukrainian-held territory to the north. | The Ukrainian military released a battlefield map on Friday indicating that it had succeeded in surrounding Donetsk, and the Dutch and Australian police officers will now operate from Ukrainian-held territory to the north. |
| The Dutch-led investigators have not said how many bodies are believed to be at the site. European monitors say the bodies of about a third of the 298 people on board the plane remain unaccounted for, either burned or overlooked. | |
| The police officers set up a base at a chicken farm near where the plane’s main landing gear and tail hit the ground. Their first task was to thoroughly search the area around the farm. | The police officers set up a base at a chicken farm near where the plane’s main landing gear and tail hit the ground. Their first task was to thoroughly search the area around the farm. |
| Every piece of human remains or personal belongings picked up will be plotted with a GPS unit, Mr. Kuijs said, adding that the police would follow an Interpol protocol for recovering remains. Cadaver dogs will soon arrive to search for even the smallest fragments in the cornfields. The police used satellite images to plan the search and expect to use drones to take aerial photographs. | |
| About 100 police officers and European monitors reached the site on Friday; the Ukrainian government has authorized up to 700 foreign police officers to search for clues and bodies. “We will find them and bring them home,” Mr. Kuijs said. | About 100 police officers and European monitors reached the site on Friday; the Ukrainian government has authorized up to 700 foreign police officers to search for clues and bodies. “We will find them and bring them home,” Mr. Kuijs said. |
| Yet even as the officers waded into the windblown grass, kneeling from time to time to more closely examine objects on the ground, explosions from tank rounds boomed over the fields. | Yet even as the officers waded into the windblown grass, kneeling from time to time to more closely examine objects on the ground, explosions from tank rounds boomed over the fields. |
| “It’s not landing here, so it’s O.K.,” said Brian McDonald, a commander in the Australian Federal Police and deputy head of the mission here. “We’ve got a job to do, so we will get on with it.” | “It’s not landing here, so it’s O.K.,” said Brian McDonald, a commander in the Australian Federal Police and deputy head of the mission here. “We’ve got a job to do, so we will get on with it.” |
| Despite the team’s success in reaching the site, the shelling underscored the continuing tensions in the region and between the United States and Russia. President Obama used a telephone call on Friday to question President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia over his intervention in Ukraine. | Despite the team’s success in reaching the site, the shelling underscored the continuing tensions in the region and between the United States and Russia. President Obama used a telephone call on Friday to question President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia over his intervention in Ukraine. |
| White House officials said that Mr. Obama had “reiterated his deep concerns about Russia’s increased support for the separatists in Ukraine” and “reinforced his preference for a diplomatic solution to the crisis.” | White House officials said that Mr. Obama had “reiterated his deep concerns about Russia’s increased support for the separatists in Ukraine” and “reinforced his preference for a diplomatic solution to the crisis.” |
| In response, Mr. Putin objected to new American sanctions, according to a statement on the Kremlin website, calling the attempt to pressure Russia economically “counterproductive.” But the two leaders agreed that the current tense relations did not serve either country’s interests, the statement said. | In response, Mr. Putin objected to new American sanctions, according to a statement on the Kremlin website, calling the attempt to pressure Russia economically “counterproductive.” But the two leaders agreed that the current tense relations did not serve either country’s interests, the statement said. |
| In another call on Friday, Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. told President Petro O. Poroshenko of Ukraine that the United States would send about $8 million in additional assistance to Ukraine’s border guard corps. That appeared to be part of an effort to help counter what American officials say has been a buildup of Russian forces along the border. | In another call on Friday, Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. told President Petro O. Poroshenko of Ukraine that the United States would send about $8 million in additional assistance to Ukraine’s border guard corps. That appeared to be part of an effort to help counter what American officials say has been a buildup of Russian forces along the border. |
| Fighting bisected the crash site on Tuesday through the village of Rozsypne, where the cockpit landed in a field and where bodies still strapped into their seats crashed into cabbage patches and one woman’s kitchen. | Fighting bisected the crash site on Tuesday through the village of Rozsypne, where the cockpit landed in a field and where bodies still strapped into their seats crashed into cabbage patches and one woman’s kitchen. |
| On Thursday, separatists and a Ukrainian armored column exchanged fire along a tree-lined lane outside the village of Petropavlovka, where personal belongings, including a Dutch children’s book and many shoes, fell to earth. Several overhead bins from the business-class section also landed there. | On Thursday, separatists and a Ukrainian armored column exchanged fire along a tree-lined lane outside the village of Petropavlovka, where personal belongings, including a Dutch children’s book and many shoes, fell to earth. Several overhead bins from the business-class section also landed there. |
| A separatist commander who gave only his nickname — Voron, or the Raven — said the Ukrainian column had not directly attacked the debris site, but had passed on a road to the town of Shakhtyorsk that was involved in the battle to encircle Donetsk. | A separatist commander who gave only his nickname — Voron, or the Raven — said the Ukrainian column had not directly attacked the debris site, but had passed on a road to the town of Shakhtyorsk that was involved in the battle to encircle Donetsk. |
| The fighting ignited a fire in a wheat field that burned over fuselage fragments, including one that was potentially relevant to the crash investigation because it had what appeared to be shrapnel holes. The field still smoldered on Friday. | The fighting ignited a fire in a wheat field that burned over fuselage fragments, including one that was potentially relevant to the crash investigation because it had what appeared to be shrapnel holes. The field still smoldered on Friday. |