Investigators reach Ukraine site
International investigators have arrived at the crash site of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, after rebels in eastern Ukraine allowed them access.
The Organization for the Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) said 30 of its staff arrived by helicopter at the scene near the village of Grabovo.
The plane, carrying 298 people, crashed in rebel-held territory on Thursday.
The two sides in Ukraine's civil conflict have accused each other of shooting the jet down with a missile.
The Boeing 777 was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. It fell between Krasni Luch in Luhansk region and Shakhtarsk in the neighbouring region of Donetsk.
Malaysia Airlines #MH17 flight route was declared safe and unrestricted by ICAO & IATA - http://t.co/HUIWQXl7dx
— Malaysia Airlines (@MAS) July 18, 2014
Latest figures released by Malaysia Airlines show the plane was carrying at least 189 Dutch nationals, 27 Australians, 44 Malaysians (including 15 crew), 12 Indonesians and nine Britons.
The dead include world-renowned Dutch researcher Joep Lange who was among a number of passengers en route to an international Aids conference in Australia.
It is the second disaster suffered by Malaysia Airlines this year. Flight MH370 disappeared en route from Malaysia to China in March and has still not been found.
The UN Security Council has begun an emergency meeting on the plane disaster in New York.
Ahead of the meeting it called for a "full, thorough and independent investigation".
US President Barack Obama is scheduled to make a statement from the White House at 15:30 GMT.
Malaysia Airlines' senior vice-president Europe, Huib Gorter, said the plane involved had been in service since 1997, had a clean maintenance record and that all communications were functioning normally at the time.
He said the flight route had been declared safe by the authorities, was being used by many other airlines and was not subject to any restrictions.
I conveyed my condolences to @TonyAbbottMHR on the loss of Australian lives on board #MH17. Appreciate his support for us in trying times.
— Mohd Najib Tun Razak (@NajibRazak) July 18, 2014
'CATASTROPHE'
The OSCE's Roland Bless confirmed to Reuters that the investigators had arrived.
The OSCE said the separatists had pledged to provide "safe access" and co-operate with Ukrainian authorities.
However, separatist leader Alexander Borodai rejected international calls for a truce, as fighting continues between the rebels and Ukrainian forces.
He also denied reports that black box flight recorders of MH17 had been recovered and handed to Moscow.
The rebels have accused the Ukrainian government of downing the airliner.
But Ukraine's defence ministry said there were no Air Force jets in the area and no surface-to-air systems being used against the rebels.
US and Ukrainian officials said they believed the plane had been brought down by a missile - a Buk thought to have been used by the rebels in Ukraine before.
The separatists were said to have seized the Buk after overrunning a Ukrainian military base.
"The air undressed them". The horrific crash site of Malaysia Airlines flight #MH17 in Ukraine http://t.co/VI1WtvZ7jE pic.twitter.com/u3soJKS7bA
— The Economist (@TheEconomist) July 18, 2014
However, Ukraine's Prosecutor General Vitaliy Yarema cast doubt on this, telling local media on Friday: "The military told the president after the passenger plane had been shot down that the terrorists did not possess our Buk missile systems."
Ukraine has called the disaster an "act of terrorism", blaming it on Russia who it says has been aiding the rebels in the conflict and supplying them with advanced weapons.
"The Russians are done for. This is an international crime which must be investigated by the international tribunal in The Hague," Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said.
The B777-200, 9M-MRD that operated MH17 has been in service for 17 years. It had a clean maintenance record - http://t.co/HUIWQXl7dx
— Malaysia Airlines (@MAS) July 18, 2014
Ukrainian authorities have released what they say are intercepted phone conversations that proved the plane was shot down by pro-Russian separatists.
But Russian President Vladimir Putin has blamed the Ukraine government for restarting military operations in the area, where it is trying to regain control from pro-Russian rebels.
Hillary Clinton: European leaders must respond if Russia was involved in the shooting down of flight #MH17 http://t.co/M1giK7NbUc
— Telegraph News (@TelegraphNews) July 18, 2014
"The country in whose airspace this happened bears responsibility for it," he said.
Buk surface-to-air missile system
Also known as SA-11 Gadfly (or newer SA-17 Grizzly)
Russian-made, mobile, medium range system
Weapons: Four surface-to-air missiles
Missile speed (max): Mach 3
Target altitude (max): 22,000 metres (72,000ft)
Source: Global Security
Russia has called for a "thorough and unbiased" investigation, adding that the tragedy also highlighted a need for a swift end to the Ukrainian conflict.
BREAKING: #Ukraine BUK missile system radar operational on day of #MH17 disaster - Russian Defense Ministry http://t.co/SqL6KndlT9
— RT (@RT_com) July 18, 2014
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