Kiev, July 22 (RHC)-- Pro-Russian militants in eastern Ukraine have handed over the black boxes from downed flight MH-17 passenger plane to Malaysian experts.
Aleksander Borodai, the prime minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, gave the downed plane’s black boxes to Malaysian experts in the city of Donetsk early on Tuesday, as part of an earlier agreement with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.
After inspecting both boxes, Colonel Mohamed Sakri of Malaysian National Security Council announced that they were both in good condition. Also pro-Russian forces announced a ceasefire within a 10-kilometer radius around the crash site to allow international investigators safe access to the large area where MH-17 flight was downed.
Based on the agreement, the corpses and body parts of the crash victims are being moved by train to the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv and will be handed over to Dutch and Malaysian representatives there.
Flight MH-17 was reportedly shot down last Thursday over Ukraine's volatile Donetsk region, while en route from the Dutch city of Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, and all of its 298 passengers and crew on board were killed.
Pro-Russians in eastern Ukraine have accused Kiev of shooting down the plane. Some witnesses say they saw the passenger plane being attacked by a Ukrainian army plane.