65 bodies from MH17 site identified

Dutch forensic experts have identified a total of 65 victims of downed flight MH17, the Dutch government said as the last of the investigators returned from eastern Ukraine.

Forty-two more victims were identified from remains taken from the crash site of the Malaysia Airlines jet, where an operation to recover body parts has been halted because of rising clashes between the Ukrainian government and pro-Russian separatists.

"Of the victims, 21 were Dutch and the other 21 another nationality," the Justice Ministry said in a statement.

"The specific nationalities of the other victims are not being revealed on the request of their countries' embassies," it added.

Forensics investigation coordinator Arie de Bruijn said on Friday that around 176 "more or less" complete bodies have arrived in The Netherlands as well as 527 other body parts.

"A team of specialists are working around the clock, but again, it could still take months before each victim has been identified," the Dutch government said.

Meanwhile, the last of the Dutch, Australian and Malaysian investigators were returning to The Netherlands, national news agency ANP reported.

The final flight of returning police investigators were expected to land at the southern city of Eindhoven late on Saturday night, including the head of the Dutch police mission in Ukraine, Pieter-Jaap Aalbersberg.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Wednesday that the search for body parts at the crash site was being suspended due to escalating violence in the area.

The Malaysia Airlines 777 exploded over Ukraine on July 17, killing all 298 on board, 193 of them Dutch.

Over 220 coffins have been flown back to the Netherlands, which is tasked with identifying the bodies.

Sunday 10 July 2014

http://www.rte.ie/news/2014/0809/636173-mh17-bodies/

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Iran plane crash near Tehran kills 38 near Mehrabad

At least 38 people were killed but others survived when a small passenger plane crashed near the Iranian capital Tehran, state media reports.

The aircraft, which was heading to the eastern city of Tabas, went down after take-off in a residential area near Mehrabad airport on Sunday morning.

Passengers included at least five children, the aviation authority said.

Iran has suffered a series of plane crashes, blamed on its ageing aircraft and poor maintenance record.

Initial reports said all passengers on board the plane had been killed, but state media later reported that some passengers had been injured and transferred to hospital.

Iran is still flying planes bought before the Islamic Revolution in 1979.

International trade sanctions were imposed after the hostage crisis which followed, during which 52 Americans were held hostage in Tehran for 444 days.

Many Iranian planes are fitted with unofficial spare parts. There have been more than 200 accidents involving Iranian planes in the past 25 years, leading to more than 2,000 deaths.

Initial reports indicate the latest incident involved an Iran-140 plane carrying 48 people, including 40 passengers and eight crew.

An Iranian MP has blamed the aviation authorities for the crash, the state-run news agency Mehr reports.

Mehrdad Bauj-Lahuti, who sits on a parliamentary committee that deals with infrastructure, said officials should not have allowed the plane to fly after it suffered malfunction during test flights.

Sunday 10 July 2014

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-28730582

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