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Preliminary report on MH17 crash to be out on September 9
A preliminary report on the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over the war-torn eastern Ukraine that killed all 298 people onboard would be released on September 9.
Kuala Lumpur: A preliminary report on the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over the war-torn eastern Ukraine that killed all 298 people onboard would be released on September 9.
The Dutch Safety Board (OVV) will issue the preliminary report on the investigation into the downing of MH17 on September 9. The preliminary report will be released on OVV's website.
"It was important to provide a guide for a more detailed investigation to find out the cause of the tragedy, which claimed the lives of all the 298 passengers and crew on board the ill-fated plane," said Malaysia Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai.
"There will only be one report, that is from the investigation committee which we (Malaysia) are part of, no other reports will be issued, not from Malaysia or any other country that is involved," Liow was quoted as saying by the official Bernama News Agency.
Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 was shot down over restive eastern Ukraine by alleged separatists on July 17 while flying to Kuala Lumpur from Amsterdam, killing 283 passengers and 15 crew on board.
Besides Malaysians, nationals from the Netherlands, Australia, Indonesia, the UK, Germany, Belgium, the Philippines, Canada and New Zealand were among the 298 passengers and crew on board.
Dutch air crash investigators returned to Netherland from Ukraine in early August without being able to visit the crash site because of the deteriorating security situation in the country's volatile east.
Ukranian air crash experts, who now form part of the OVV team, did visit the scene shortly after the crash.
The aircraft's black boxes have been shipped to the UK to be examined by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch.
The search for body parts, however, has been suspended since early August due to heavy fighting between Kiev and pro-Moscow rebels in the area.
Liow also said the investigation committee identified the remains of another Malaysian victim today, bringing the number of Malaysian victims identified so far to 33. Ten more Malaysian victims have not been accounted for yet.