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MH17 Malaysia Airlines updates: latest news and developments

A MOTHER and son settled into their seats on flight MH17, there was time for a selfie before take off. That picture was to be their last.

Matt Young, James Law and Debra Killalea
10 min read
July 21, 2014 - 7:26AM
Dozens of MH17 Passenger Remains Still Missing

AS Gary Slok and his mother settled into their seats on flight MH17, there was just enough time to take and upload a selfie before take off.

That picture was to be their last.

“Gary and his mum Petra were on their way to Malaysia to have the dream holiday of their life. Sadly they never got the chance to fulfil that dream,” a club spokesman from Gary’s team said.

“But his story and his last picture tell you how dreams of many people with wonderful lives ahead of them have been wrecked.”

So happy: Gary Slok and his mother Petra uploaded this selfie on board Flight MH17 just before the aircraft took off.
So happy: Gary Slok and his mother Petra uploaded this selfie on board Flight MH17 just before the aircraft took off.

EARLIER TODAY:

• Dutch man escapes tragedy on Malaysia Airlines flights not once but twice.

• Sky News apologises for rummaging through luggage.

• Black boxes in the hands of Russian rebels.

• Official Australian death toll released .

• How the international press reported MH17.

• What happened to the bodies of the victims?

• Katy Perry said WHAT about MH17?

• Is this the missile launcher that shot down MH17?

• Banks taking “preventive measures” after passengers’ cards stolen

• Heartbreaking story of MH17 loss.

• Tony Abbott talks with Vladimir Putin, but what did he say?

• Heartbreaking images from the crash scene ... and beyond.

7pm

The bodies of the MH17 victims, including up to 39 Australian citizens and residents, will be transferred to Amsterdam as soon as possible, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk says.

Some 251 bodies are currently in refrigerated trains in rebel-controlled eastern Ukraine.

6.15pm

BREAKING: Fighting has erupted at the train station in the city of Donestk, with unconfirmed reports that the Ukrainian army is attacking the rebel stronghold.

1.35pm

Another Australian victim of MH17 has been identified as Sydney preschool teacher Gabriele Lauschet, Fairfax reports.

The newspaper said the “much loved, caring” teacher, who has an adult son called Tim, had taught at the German International School at Terrey Hills since 2000.

The 47-year-old Ms Lauschet had only recently become engaged to fellow school staff member Andreas Schaaf.

Gabriele Lauschet (right) in an undated picture.
Gabriele Lauschet (right) in an undated picture.

1:05pm

Acting Opposition Leader Tanya Plibersek has met with AIDS 2014 organisers in Melbourne to learn more about those who were lost in this "terrible tragedy”.

“This has gone on too long already,” she said of Russian activists keeping the crash site hostage.

12:30pm

Heartbreaking photos from the crash scene ... and beyond.

A woman leaves the site in tears. Pic Ella Pellegrini
A woman leaves the site in tears. Pic Ella Pellegrini
Locals attend a special mass in Saint Vitus Church in memory of the victims of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 on July 20, 2014 in Hilversum, Netherlands. Three families from Hilversum were killed in the crash. Picture: Christopher Furlong.
Locals attend a special mass in Saint Vitus Church in memory of the victims of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 on July 20, 2014 in Hilversum, Netherlands. Three families from Hilversum were killed in the crash. Picture: Christopher Furlong.
Sunbury real estate agent Albert and wife, Maree Rizk, were killed in the MH17 plane crash. Condolences at office. Picture: Carmelo Bazzano
Sunbury real estate agent Albert and wife, Maree Rizk, were killed in the MH17 plane crash. Condolences at office. Picture: Carmelo Bazzano
Flowers lie on part of the wreckage of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in Grabovo, Ukraine. Picture: Rob Stothard
Flowers lie on part of the wreckage of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in Grabovo, Ukraine. Picture: Rob Stothard

12:20pm

Russian President Vladimir Putin has promised to co-operate with outraged world leaders seeking access to the site of downed flight MH17, after Washington squarely pointed the finger of blame at Moscow for the crash.

The under-fire Russian leader appeared to seek to temper international fury after US Secretary of State John Kerry said the missile system used to shoot down the Malaysia Airlines jet was “transferred from Russia in the hands of separatists”.

More on Vladimir Putin’s reaction HERE.

Will Putin stick to his word? Picture: Mikhail Klimentyev
Will Putin stick to his word? Picture: Mikhail Klimentyev

1 1:40am

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has reached out to the families of MH17 victims. Mr Abbott touched on a number of points during a press conference this morning.

■ “It's true they have been given somewhat better access today but as anyone who has been watching the footage would know this is still an absolutely shambolic situation. It does look more like a garden clean up than a forensic investigation.”

■ “We want to retrieve the bodies, we want to investigate the site and we want to punish the guilty, that’s what we want to do. It’s absolutely imperative that we bring them home, in order to bring them home we have to get them out.”

■ “I want everyone to know that their Prime Minister is available to them at a time like that.”

■ “The mood of the leaders that I spoke to is firmer and sterner now than it was in the 24 hours immediately subsequent to the downing of this aircraft.”

■ On Putin: “I’m not going into details, I don’t think it is fair to go into great detail as to the nature of this conversation, but to President Putin’s credit he did say all the right things. What he did say was fine; the challenge now is to hold the President to his word, that’s my intention.

■ “The train where the bodies seem to be held has been prevented to leave by the Russian-backed rebels and again, this is completely unacceptable.”

11:25am

Foreign minister Julie Bishop said an urgent vote could take place as early as Monday in the U.N. Security Council on a resolution demanding international access to the crash site. Ms Bishop told reporters in Washington on Sunday she expects all 15 council members to fully support Australia’s proposal.

The resolution calls for pro-Russia separatists to allow international access to the crash site of the passenger jet and asks for the full co-operation of all countries in the region, including Russia.

Russia has the power to veto the resolution as a permanent council member.

U.N. diplomats have tweeted that the council will vote Monday afternoon on the proposal co-sponsored by Australia, France and Lithuania.

“I would expect every country to give it their full support,” Bishop said.

11:20am

The father of three Australian children killed on board MH17 has taken indefinite leave from his job as head of Buxton Resources.

A brief statement from the Perth-based mining company on Monday said Anthony Maslin was taking personal leave from his job as managing director.

Mr Maslin and his wife Rin returned to Perth at the weekend from Amsterdam, where they had farewelled their three children on the ill-fated flight last Thursday.

The children, Mo, 12, Evie, 10 and Otis, eight, boarded MH17 with their grandfather Nick Norris so they could return to Australia from their European holiday in time to start school this week.

Their devastated parents flew home on Saturday and attended a public tribute for their children at Mo’s junior football club on Sunday.

The three children and their grandfather were among 298 people who died when MH17 was shot down over rebel-held eastern Ukraine.

Anthony Maslin (centre red coat, hat) grieves with friends from their eldest son Mo's football club yesterday, after all 3 of his children died on board the Malaysian flight MH17.
Anthony Maslin (centre red coat, hat) grieves with friends from their eldest son Mo's football club yesterday, after all 3 of his children died on board the Malaysian flight MH17.

11:10am

10:35am

Just when you thought the looting of MH17 victims' personal effects were bad enough, there are now reports that credit and debit cards have been stolen.

The Dutch Banking Association is taking “preventive measures” to ensure the stolen cards will not be used for personal gain, but in case they are, victims' families will be compensated, it claims.

The Dutch Banking Association assures families they are taking “preventive measures”.
The Dutch Banking Association assures families they are taking “preventive measures”.

10:15am

Ukrainian sources have claimed that this video shows the missile launcher used to shoot down Malaysia Airlines flight MH17.

The video, taken on a dashboard camera on Saturday, shows a military truck driving for two kilometres near the Russia-Ukraine boarder, The Mirror reports.

One online version of the video reads: “For two kilometres, a blogger from Russia has been driving behind covered BUK 1M which, according to his words, had been driving from the Ukrainian border. His opinion it that is exactly that BUK that made the shot.”

10:10am

This is the final Facebook post of Ariza Ghazalee, whose picture of 15 pieces of luggage was to signal a new life with her family in Malaysia.

“Starting our new hijrah, Alhamdulillah,” she wrote, meaning “Starting our new migration, Praise God.”

Ghazalee, along with her husband and four children, never made it to their final destination.

Post by Ariza Ghazalee.

10:05am

10:00am

More reports of luggage looting from CNN reporter Chris Cuomo.

9:55am

Reporters describe the difficulty and danger in accessing the MH17 crash scene.

9:50am

It seems Katy Perry may have hit the wrong note when tweeting about the MH17 disaster.

The American popster revealed how sad she was to hear about the 100 UNICEF volunteers who were on-board the doomed flight.

But presumably Perry confused the volunteers with workers, staff and researchers heading to the International AIDS conference in Melbourne.

9:45am

Questions still remain over the whereabouts of the victims’ bodies after this scene played out yesterday. There are grave fears the bodies have been tampered with and that the crash site of MH17 — dubbed the world’s biggest crime scene — has been contaminated

“It’s an utter outrage that the site has been contaminated, that bodies have been removed and that they’ve not been handed over to independent authorities,” Foreign Minister Julie Bishop told reporters in New York, where she is pushing the United Nations Security Council to set up an urgent international investigation into the incident.

9:35am

It has been revealed that the step-grandmother of Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razek perished along with the 297 others on board the doomed flight.

9:30am

As a mark of respect to the crew and passengers of MH17, Malaysia Airlines retires MH17 flight number.

9:15am

Sad ...

9:05am

This is how the international press reported on the disaster over the weekend.

8:55am

Tony Abbott says Russia must show genuine remorse and regret over the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight 17, giving his strongest hint that President Vladimir Putin could be barred from this year’s G20 summit.

“Russian controlled territory, Russian-backed rebels, quite likely a Russian supplied weapon — Russia can’t wash its hands of this,” Mr Abbott told the ABC yesterday.

Labor, the Greens and Queensland Liberal Premier Campbell Newman have all explicitly demanded Russian co-operation in the investigation before he is welcomed at the Brisbane summit in November.

The warning came after Russia’s G8 membership was suspended over its takeover of Crimea in March.

8:45am

Thirty-seven Australian residents have been confirmed as among the dead from the Malaysia Airlines tragedy.

The official Australian death toll from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade includes 28 Australian citizens and an additional nine permanent residents.

8:35am

Residents have reported bodies raining down on their village in eastern Ukraine where MH17 crashed to the ground.

The naked corpse of a woman fell through the rickety roof of 65-year-old resident Irina Tipunova, Reuters reports.

“There was a howling noise and everything started to rattle. Then objects started falling out of the sky,” the 65-year-old pensioner said.

“And then I heard a roar and she landed in the kitchen, the roof was broken,” she said, showing the gaping hole made by the body when it came through the ceiling of the kitchen.

“The body’s still here because they told me to wait for experts to come and get it.”

“Everything started to rattle,” said Irina Tipunova.
“Everything started to rattle,” said Irina Tipunova.

8:30am

Ukraine’s security service yesterday revealed that it had “compelling evidence” Russian-backed rebels were behind the MH17 disaster.

Counter-intelligence chief at the SSU, Vitaly Nayda, said: “The SSU conducts investigative actions and receives irrefutable evidence that Russian citizens were involved in the act of terrorism.”

Mr Nayda’s claim comes as the United States confirmed that Russia supplied sophisticated missile launchers to separatists in eastern Ukraine and that attempts were made to move them back across the Russian border after the Malaysia Airlines jet was shot down.

8:25am

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has led the world with a strong rebuke of Russia in the wake of the MH17 disaster.

“My fear is that Russia will say the right thing, but that on the ground interference with the site, interference with investigators, interference with the dignified treatment of bodies will continue,” he told the ABC yesterday.

Mr Abbott demanded that the bodies of those killed when the flight crashed be “treated with respect”.

“We owe it to the families — all the families — to do everything in our power to respect the bodies, to find the truth and to ensure that justice is done,” Mr Abbott later told Channel Nine.

8:15am

The black boxes of the doomed Malaysian Airlines flight have been found and confirmed to be in the hands of Russian rebels, it has emerged.

Pro-Russian separatists, who control swathes of east Ukraine, had removed the flight recorders from the MH17 wreckage after the plane was shot down.

Rebel leader Alexander Borodai initially denied having the vital equipment but has now confirmed his movement does have them, revealing the black boxes would be handed over to the International Civil Aviation Organization.

8:00am

7:50am

British broadcaster Sky News has apologised after one of its presenters searched through luggage at the crash site of downed flight MH17 live on air.

In a news broadcast on Sunday, presenter Colin Brazier was shown searching through personal belongings in an opened suitcase at the site, picking up a set of keys before saying: “We shouldn’t really be doing this.”

The footage was greeted with anger on social media, including calls for Brazier to be sacked, reports AFP.

“Today while presenting from the site of the MH17 air crash Colin Brazier reflected on the human tragedy of the event and showed audiences the content of one of the victims’ bags,” a Sky News spokesman said.

“Colin immediately recognised that this was inappropriate and said so on air. Both Colin and Sky News apologise profusely for any offence caused.”

7:45am

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has spoken with Russian president Vladimir Putin about MH17 amid concerns Russian-backed rebels are hampering an investigation.

The discussion comes as Foreign Minister Julie Bishop pushes for a UN-backed resolution to secure international access to the crash site in eastern Ukraine.

She expects Russia and all other countries on the UN Security Council to back the resolution.

Mr Abbott and the Russian leader spoke overnight, and while he would not go into the detail of his conversation with Mr Putin, but reported that “he said all the right things”.

“Now he has to be as good as his word,” he told Macquarie Radio this morning.

Tony Abbott has been particularly vocal against Russia since the downing of MH17. Picture: Alex Ellinghausen
Tony Abbott has been particularly vocal against Russia since the downing of MH17. Picture: Alex Ellinghausen

7:40am

A former flight planner has revealed it would have cost Malaysia Airlines $66 per passenger to divert around Ukrainian airspace.

The diversion would have added up to 45 minutes to the journey, adding up to between $14,500 and $18,750 to the overall cost of the flight, The Australian reported.

7 :25am

Dutch man Maarten De Jonge is counting his lucky stars after escaping death not once but twice, after being booked on to fly both doomed Malaysia Airlines flights.

The 29-year-old cyclist from Oldenzaal was scheduled to take missing flight MH370 from Kuala Lumpur in March to compete in Taiwan for a race, but switched to another flight to avoid having a stopover.

He was also booked to fly on flight MH17 but changed his ticket for a later flight on the weekend to save money.

On his website he said that he was “overwhelmed” with responses to his story but added the focus should move back to victims and their families.

Maarten De Jonge said he would still fly with Malaysia Airlines again. Picture: @maartenmaleis
Maarten De Jonge said he would still fly with Malaysia Airlines again. Picture: @maartenmaleis
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Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/incidents/mh17-malaysia-airlines-updates-latest-news-and-developments/news-story/532188ff6e0d7cf164a0eea659c9399a