272 bodies recovered from MH17 crash site: Ukrainian PM

Kiev, July 21: Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk on Monday said that rescuers have recovered 272 bodies from the crash site of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17.

"272 bodies have been found and 251 of them are in refrigerators in Torez train station," Yatsenyuk told reporters at a press conference here.

Ukraine stood ready to transfer the bodies to the Netherlands, Yatsenyuk said, adding that the government in Kiev "has no doubt" that the plane was hit by an anti-aircraft missile.

Yatsenyuk suggested that the Netherlands lead the investigation into the incident.

Flight MH17, a Boeing 777, was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it crashed after being hit by a missile in Ukraine near the Russian border, killing all 298 passengers and crew on board.

This is the second major tragedy for Malaysia Airlines this year after flight MH370 with 239 passengers and crew on board went missing while going from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing March 8. It has remained untraced till date despite intense international efforts.

IANS