MH17 crash: Returning to crash site remains priority says Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia today said that returning to the crash site of flight MH17 to facilitate criminal investigations remains a priority for it and is committed to seeking justice for the victims travelling on the ill-fated plane.

"We need to do all we can to access the location to facilitate criminal investigations into the tragedy," defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said here.

The Malaysian government is committed to seeking justice for the victims, he said.

However, he pointed out the site in Eastern Ukraine is still a war zone.

"It will be a miracle if we are successful because of the ongoing geopolitical conflict but we have done the impossible before," he said after a ceremony to honour nine more MH17 victims whose remains arrived back from Amsterdam.

He said what they needed was for those involved to agree to a ceasefire at that location to allow for investigators to work.

Hishammuddin added there had been some closure for the families of victims, whose remains had been brought back but 11 Malaysians were still missing or yet to be identified.

Transport Minister Datuk Liow Tiong Lai said some of the remains could be still at the crash site "That's also why we need to return to the location to find as many of the remains as possible," he said.

Malaysian Airline flight MH17 was shot down over restive eastern Ukraine by alleged separatists on July 17 while flying to Kuala Lumpur from Amsterdam. The plane was carrying 298 people including 43 Malaysians.