Malaysia to join MH17 crash investigation team

Kuala Lumpur, Nov 5: Malaysia will be made a member of the Dutch-led team which is investigating the MH17 crash in eastern Ukraine, the Prime Ministers of Malaysia and the Netherlands announced Wednesday.

Najib Tun Razak and his Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte, who is here for a one-day official visit said both countries realised the importance of Malaysia's presence in the team, the Malaysian Star reported.

"I would like to state that 43 people died in this crash and the aircraft MH17 was carrying the Malaysian flag, so it is only logical that Malaysia gets involved," Rutte was quoted as saying in a joint press conference here.

Rutte was responding to a question asked by the Malaysian Ambassador to the Netherlands as to why Malaysia was still not involved in the criminal investigation team, the report stated.

Najib in response to Rutte's comments said that he expected a "meaningful development" to take place in the next few days after his country's inclusion in the team.

Flight MH17 crashed in eastern Ukraine July 17 as it flew from Amsterdam on its way to Kuala Lumpur with 283 passengers and 15 crew onboard. The aircraft is believed to have been shot down in strife-torn eastern Ukraine.

There were 193 Dutch nationals and 44 Malaysians among the passengers onboard.

IANS