MH17: Special Investigation team arrives in Kiev

0

UPDATE: Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai will be leaving for Kiev, Ukraine tonight to facilitate Malaysian investigators to gain access to the MH17 crash site

KIEV, UKRAINE: The Malaysian special investigation team on the crashed Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flight MH17 arrives in Kiev International Airport here at 4 am (Kiev local time) Saturday.

The head of the delegation, Khairil Hilmi Mokhtar said the 131 personnel from various government agencies would be in Ukraine until March 25.

” I hope the process will run smoothly for the investigation team,” Khairil Hilmi, who is also National Security Council Cross Border Management Division principal assistant secretary, told Malaysian journalists upon arrival at the airport here Saturday.

The team, which included police forensic officers, Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team and medical officials, left Kuala Lumpur on Friday night in a chartered flight.

Khairil Hilmi said several issues needed to be discussed Saturday since the crash site was located 500km from Kiev.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had vowed to find out precisely what caused flight MH17 to crash in Ukraine on Thursday although the Ukranian authorities believed the commercial airplane was shot down.

MAS confirmed on Friday that it was carrying 283 passengers, including three infants of various nationalities, and 15 Malaysian crew members.

The Boeing 777-200 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, was scheduled to arrive in Kuala Lumpur at 6.10 am Malaysian time on Friday. -Bernama