Pro-Russian Separatists To Hand Over Bodies, Black Boxes From MH17, Malaysia PM Says

Pro-Russian militants in control of the MH17 crash site agreed to hand over vital evidence, Malaysia Prime Minister Najib Razak announced Monday.

A pro-Russian rebel speaks on the phone as a refrigerated train loaded with bodies of the passengers departs the station in Torez, eastern Ukraine.

AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda

Prime Minister Najib Razak said Malaysia has negotiated a deal with pro-Russian separatists in command of the region to hand over the black boxes and the remains of 282 victims from Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17.

"We need to know what caused the plane to crash and who was responsible, so that justice may be done," Razak said at the midnight press conference.

The self-proclaimed leader of the Donetsk People's Republic, Alexander Borodai, told Razak that separatists will give the black boxes to Malaysia officials at 9:00 p.m. local time in Ukraine.

Borodai claimed over the weekend that the separatists in control of the crash site had in possession what he believed to be the black boxes.

Razak added that the bodies of 282 victims of the MH17 crash will be handed over to Dutch authorities.

Earlier on Monday, a train carrying the remains of the victims departed from the Torez train station en route to Kharkiv, where they will reportedly be handed over to representatives from the Netherlands. The remains will then be flown to Amsterdam on board a Dutch C130 Hercules, the Malaysia PM said.

Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko told CNN's Cristiane Amanpour Monday that 16 bodies are still missing from the crash.

Razak "guaranteed" in his statement that independent international investigators will have full access to the crash site.

from BuzzFeed - Breaking http://ift.tt/Un5l5t