MH17: Victim's Brother Grateful Remains Removed From Crash Site

KUALA LUMPUR, July 22 (Bernama) -- The family of one of the victims on board Malaysia Airlines (MAS) Flight MH17 aircraft which was believed to have been shot down in eastern Ukraine, has expressed gratitude to the Malaysian Government on its efforts to bring back the remains of the victims. Mohd Zaki Md Salim, 38, said the news report which stated that the remains of 282 people would be removed from the crash site by train from Torez to Kharkiv before being flown to Amsterdam, had given new hope that the remains of his brother, Mohd Ali, 30, would be brought home for proper burial at their hometown in Pagoh, Johor. "I am grateful and touched by the determination of the (Malaysian) government, especially Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who is so determined in using any possible way to bring back the remains of the victims, as soon as possible. "My brother will be laid to rest at the Kampung Jayor Muslim cemetery in Pagoh," he told Bernama here Tuesday. Mohd Ali, a designated lecturer at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), was pursuing a doctorate degree at Erasmus University in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Mohd Zaki said MAS had also offered to fly five members of his family to Kiev soon, to follow the latest development there. "It is learnt that later today (Tuesday), MAS representatives will come here (Marriot Hotel) to take DNA samples from family members of the victims," he said. At a press conference in Seri Perdana earlier Tuesday, the prime minister said he had spoken with Alexander Borodai, who is in command of the region where the MH17 tragedy occurred. Najib said both of them had reached an agreement on several matters. In relation to this, firstly, the remains of 282 people will be moved from Torev by train to Kharkiv before being flown to Amsterdam on Netherland-owned C-130 Hercules aircraft. Following any necessary forensic work, the remains of Malaysian citizens in the MH17 tragedy will be flown to Malaysia. Secondly, at approximately 9pm on Monday (Ukraine time), two MH17 black boxes were handed over to the Malaysian team in Donetsk. Thirdly, independent international investigators will be guaranteed safe access to the crash site to begin a full investigation into the incident. MAS Flight MH17 was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it went down in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine near the Russian border on Thursday night. The Boeing 777-200 aircraft was carrying 298 people - 283 passengers and 15 crew. Foreign media reports said the aircraft was shot down but until today, no one has claimed responsibility for the incident. -- BERNAMA