Solemn rites for bodies from MH17

Hoisted in 40 wooden coffins, the first bodies from flight MH17 arrived in the Netherlands on July 23, almost a week after it was shot down over Ukraine, in a somber ceremony attended by a large crowd of the bereaved. Church bells rang throughout the country as the planes touched down in a much-delayed return for the first as-yet unidentified remains of the 298 people killed in the disaster, most of them Dutch. The televised two-hour ceremony watched across the Netherlands and abroad came in stark contrast to the chaotic and disturbing scenes filmed in the aftermath of the plane crash. Kiev said missiles fired from Russia – accused by the West of provoking the MH17 disaster – took down two of its warplanes in the rebel-controlled area of the crash.

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