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MH17 crash: 181 bodies found, black box with rebels

Buk missile brought down the plane?
An adviser to Ukraine's Interior Ministry said the plane was shot down by a Buk, a Russian-made missile launching system, over territory controlled by pro-Russia separatists. The surface-to-air missile has up to a 90% chance of downing a plane in one shot. The Buk - which means beech tree in Russian - includes four missiles on a turntable mounted on a tracked vehicle.

2 Indian-origin crew members among dead
Two Indian-origin flight stewards were among the 15 crew members on-board the flight MH17, Malaysian media reported on Friday. These included Sanjib Singh Sandhu, 41, and Angeline Premila Rajandran, 30.

Kuala Lumpur/Kiev, July 18
Rescuers have so far recovered 181 bodies scattered over a vast area in eastern Ukraine even as pro-Russia rebels today said they have recovered the black box from the wreckage of the Malaysian plane blown up by a missile, killing all 298 persons on board.

Pro-Russia rebels claimed to have recovered the black box of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 and had announced that they are planning to have it moved to Moscow for examination, Russian news agency Interfax reported.

Ukraine Foreign Ministry said 181 bodies had been located which are scattered over a vast stretch of a farmland so far at the crash site.

The ministry said the bodies would be taken to Kharkiv, a government-controlled city 270 km north of the crash site, for identification.

The Ukrainian government and the pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country have blamed each other for the alleged shooting down of the plane yesterday.

Pro-Russia rebels have agreed to give international investigators access to the crash site and allow the recovery of bodies. "Rebels in eastern Ukraine will continue fighting in all areas except for the site of the Malaysian plane crash site," a rebel commander was quoted as saying by the RIA Novosti.

The 15-member crew was from Malaysia and included two ethnic Indians, Sanjib Singh Sandhu, 41, and Angeline Premila Rajandran, 30.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko accused "terrorists" of downing the jet, referring to pro-Russian separatists. However, Russian defence ministry said it had picked up radar unit activity from a Ukrainian-controlled 'Buk' missile system on the day the Malaysian airliner crashed.

Ukrainian authorities said the plane was "shot down" by pro-Russia rebels using a BUK anti-aircraft missile system while it was cruising at an altitude of 10,000 metres. US intelligence authorities said a surface-to-air missile downed the plane, but could not say who fired it. The Russian defence ministry said today that a Ukrainian radar station of surface-to-air missiles was operating on the day the plane crashed. PTI