'Many' human remains found at MH17 crash site: Dutch

THE HAGUE: Dutch investigators have recovered "many" more body parts and pieces of wreckage after resuming their search at the MH17 plane crash site in Ukraine, the Netherlands said Wednesday.

All 298 passengers and crew onboard the Malaysia Airlines jetliner -- most of them Dutch -- died when it was shot down over rebel-held eastern Ukraine last year.

"Many human remains have been found in the first few days of this mission," the Dutch justice ministry said in a statement.

Investigators also recovered around 50 cubic metres (around 1,750 cubic feet) of plane wreckage as well as personal effects including jewellery, passports and photographs.

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Everything that has been found will be taken to the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv and from there to the Netherlands.

The latest search operation started last week in Petropavlivka, about 10 kilometres (six miles) west of Grabove where most of the debris fell.

The Boeing 777 was flying at high altitude when it was shot down on July 17.

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The remains of all but two victims, both Dutch, have been identified.

Kiev and the West claim that the plane was shot down by the separatists using a BUK surface-to-air missile supplied by Russia. Moscow denies the charges, pointing the finger at Kiev.

The Netherlands has been charged with leading the investigation into the cause of the incident and identifying the victims of the flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.