For the first time yesterday, relatives of the 298 people killed when a Malaysia Airlines flight was downed over Ukraine last July were allowed to view the wreckage. The mangled pieces of Flight MH17, which had been traveling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it was shot down on July 17, were moved in December to Gilze-Rijen military base in the Netherlands as part of an ongoing probe into what and who shot down the plane.
Photo by Robin Van Lonkhuijsen/AFP/Getty Images
The first relatives of the victims visited the wreckage yesterday, investigators said. A total of about 500 were expected to visit this week.
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Photo by Robin Van Lonkhuijsen/AFP/Getty Images
Not all pieces of the plane were on display. Those that indicated to investigators that a “large number of high-energy objects” had “pierced the plane at high speed” were kept elsewhere.
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Photo by Peter Dejong/AP
Dutch military police guarded the wreckage.
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Photo by Robin Van Lonkhuijsen/AFP/Getty Images
Members of the media viewed the wreckage only when no family members of victims were present. Several photos were also posted on social media:
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