19 July 2014

FLIGHT MH17 - 'I heard a roar and a body landed in my kitchen': MH17 witnesses describe in horrifying detail how a cloud of debris and bodies rained down on their homes after jetliner was blown out the sky






'I heard a roar and a body landed in my kitchen': MH17 witnesses describe in horrifying detail how a cloud of debris and bodies rained down on their homes after jetliner was blown out the sky


  • The Malaysian Airlines flight, a Boeing 777, was brought down by a missile strike over eastern Ukraine on Thursday
  • Eyewitnesses have described the shocking scenes at the crash sites, with many passengers stripped bare
  • Belongings litter the fields where the plane came down and include children's books, cards and vinyl records
  • The aircraft was brought down en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur with the loss of all 298 people on board

Residents of a small Ukrainian village on the Russian border described in graphic detail the moment Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 fell out of the sky Thursday, raining down personal belongings and naked bodies on nearby homes and fields. 

One retiree told how a corpse smashed through the roof of her house. 
'There was a howling noise and everything started to rattle. Then objects started falling out of the sky,' said Irina Tipunova, 65. 'And then I heard a roar and she landed in the kitchen. The roof was broken. '
The dead woman's naked body was still lying inside the house, next to a bed. 
Still visibly shaken by her experience, Tipunova said: 'The body's still here because they told me to wait for experts to come and get it.'

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epa04321083 Dead bodies between debris of the Boeing 777, Malaysia Arilines flight MH17, which crashed during flying over the eastern Ukraine region near Donetsk, Ukraine, 18 July 2014. A Malaysia Airlines plane with 295 people on board crashed at 17 July in eastern Ukraine, and both the government and separatist rebels fighting in the area denied shooting it down. All passengers on board Flight MH17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur are feared dead. Malaysia Airlines said that it lost contact with Flight MH17 at 1415 GMT, about 50 kilometres from the Russia-Ukraine border. The plane was carrying 280 passengers and 15 crew members, the airline said.  EPA/ANASTASIA VLASOVA ATTENTION EDITORS: PICTURE CONTAINS GRAPHIC CONTENT
Disturbing: Dead bodies were found mixed in with debris, with some corpses having remained almost intact. Ukraine has appealed for respect for the 298 dead
epa04321137 A pro-Russian militant inspects the crash site of Malaysia Arilines flight MH17, which crashed during a flight over the eastern Ukraine region near Donetsk, Ukraine, 18 July 2014. A Malaysia Airlines plane with 295 people on board crashed on 17 July in eastern Ukraine, and both the government and separatist rebels fighting in the area denied shooting it down. All passengers on board Flight MH17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur are feared dead. Malaysia Airlines said that it lost contact with Flight MH17 at 1415 GMT, about 50 kilometers from the Russia-Ukraine border. The plane was carrying 280 passengers and 15 crew members, the airline said.  EPA/ANASTASIA VLASOVA ATTENTION EDITORS: PICTURE CONTAINS GRAPHIC CONTENT
Blast: Experts claim the aircraft will have exploded in the air after being hit by a shrapnel-based missile which scattered the plane and its passengers across the fields
Out of the blue: A Ukrainian covers a body with a  plastic sheet in a field. Malaysia's prime minister said there was no distress call before the plane went down and that the flight route was declared safe by the International Civil Aviation Organisation
Out of the blue: A Ukrainian covers a body with a plastic sheet in a field. Malaysia's prime minister said there was no distress call before the plane went down and that the flight route was declared safe by the International Civil Aviation Organisation
Shocking sight: A woman walks past a body covered with a plastic sheet in a sunflower field near the site of a crashed Malaysia Airlines passenger plane near the village of Rozsypne
Shocking sight: A woman walks past a body covered with a plastic sheet in a sunflower field near the site of a crashed Malaysia Airlines passenger plane near the village of Rozsypne
Another local resident in her 20s who refused to give her name said she ran outside after hearing the plane explode.
'I opened the door and I saw people falling. One fell in my vegetable patch,' she said.
The Malaysian Airlines flight, a Boeing 777, was brought down over eastern Ukraine on Thursday as it flew from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, with the loss of everyone on board.
Makeshift white flags have been placed to mark where bodies lay in corn fields and among the debris.
Others, stripped bare by the force of the crash, had been covered by polythene sheeting weighed down by stones, one marked with a red rose in remembrance.
‘The plane broke up in the air, and the parts and human bodies are lying within a three kilometer area,’ said a post by Vsevolod Petrovsky after visiting the scene. 
‘One body broke a hole in the thin roof of summer terrace in a private house. I got out of the car and immediately saw the naked body of a woman, covered by some leaves.
‘There were many bodies without clothes around. Probably, their clothing was torn away after the loss of pressurization. Horrible.
‘I go further and see a hill made of the cockpit parts. The area is lit. The pilot's body is in this seat, with seat belt fastened, he is dressed in his clothes.
‘Among the plane parts there were many parcels. Letters tied with a rope, books, old vinyl records, somebody's shoes. Children's caps with the Dutch national flag colors. Amazingly, almost all of these things are not destroyed.
‘There was no fire in this part of the plane. The fire was in the back part which is lying not far from Grabovo village.’
The victims' belongings have since become a magnet for looters who, according to Ukrainian politicians, have descended on the site of the crash in the hopes of salvaging valuables, including cash and jewelery.  
Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the Kiev government, said: 'I have received information that terrorist death-hunters were collecting not only cash and jewelery of the crashed Boeing dead passengers but also the credit cards of the victims.
Smoldering debris: People inspect the crash site of a passenger plane near the village of Hrabove, Ukraine, with some parts of the jet still on fire
Smoldering debris: People inspect the crash site of a passenger plane near the village of Hrabove, Ukraine, with some parts of the jet still on fire
Chunks and bits: Search and rescue team search for human remains  amongst the fragmented wreckage
Chunks and bits: Search and rescue team search for human remains amongst the fragmented wreckage
All that remains: A part of plane is seen lying in a wheat field after the devastating missile strike
All that remains: A part of plane is seen lying in a wheat field after the devastating missile strike
epa04321134 Personal belongings and luggage of passengers between debris of the Boeing 777, Malaysia Arilines flight MH17, which crashed during flying over the eastern Ukraine region near Donetsk, Ukraine, 18 July 2014. A Malaysia Airlines plane with 295 people on board crashed at 17 July in eastern Ukraine, and both the government and separatist rebels fighting in the area denied shooting it down. All passengers on board Flight MH17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur are feared dead. Malaysia Airlines said that it lost contact with Flight MH17 at 1415 GMT, about 50 kilometres from the Russia-Ukraine border. The plane was carrying 280 passengers and 15 crew members, the airline said.  EPA/ANASTASIA VLASOVA
Raids: Looters have been raiding the personal belongings and luggage of MH17 passengers strewn across the crash site in eastern Ukraine, officials claim
TOPSHOTS
A piece of wreckage of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 is pictured on July 18, 2014 in Shaktarsk, the day after it crashed. Flight MH17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, which US officials believe was hit by a surface-to-air missile over Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board.  AFP PHOTO / DOMINIQUE FAGETDOMINIQUE FAGET/AFP/Getty Images
Search: Teams are now wading through pieces of wreckage of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in Shaktarsk to retrieve remains and belongings
'Currently, they might as well try to use them in Ukraine or pass them on to Russia. 
'My humble request to the relatives of the victims to freeze their credit cards, so that they won't lose their assets to terrorists.'
Speculation over the source of the missile, which remains unconfirmed, has sparked a propaganda battle between both sides of the Ukraine-Russia crisis. 
 

Officials in Kiev have made repeated statements linking the attack to pro-Russian separatists.
Tonight, the UK prime minister's office at Downing Street supported the claims with a statement to say it appears 'increasingly likely that MH-17 was shot down by a separatist missile' fired from near Torez, an area controlled by pro-Russian rebels.
Distressing scenes: Playing cards and children's drawing books lie among the flowers in Ukraine's eastern countryside after the MH17 was hit by an SA-11
Distressing scenes: Playing cards and children's drawing books lie among the flowers in Ukraine's eastern countryside after the MH17 was hit by an SA-11
Plea: An advisor to Kiev's government has urged grieving relatives to cancel their loved ones' credit cards as looters snatch items from the wreckage
Plea: An advisor to Kiev's government has urged grieving relatives to cancel their loved ones' credit cards as looters snatch items from the wreckage
Precious mementos: A little girl's pink suitcase containing books and a lunchbox decorated with the picture of Minnie Mouse is seen among a pile of luggage from the downed jet
Precious mementos: A little girl's pink suitcase containing books and a lunchbox decorated with the picture of Minnie Mouse is seen among a pile of luggage from the downed jet
epa04321054 Pro-Russian militant passes by the wreckage of a Boeing 777, of Malaysia Arilines flight MH17 debris, which crashed during flight over the eastern Ukraine region near Donetsk, Ukraine, 18 July 2014. A Malaysia Airlines plane with 295 people on board crashed on 17 July in eastern Ukraine, and both the government and separatist rebels fighting in the area denied shooting it down. All passengers on board Flight MH17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur are feared dead. Malaysia Airlines said that it lost contact with Flight MH17 at 1415 GMT, about 50 kilometers from the Russia-Ukraine border. The plane was carrying 280 passengers and 15 crew members, the airline said.  EPA/ANASTASIA VLASOVA
A pro-Russian militant passes by the wreckage of MH17, which crash on Thursday afternoon after taking off from Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam
epa04321133 Personal belongings and luggage of passengers between debris of the Boeing 777, Malaysia Arilines flight MH17, which crashed during flying over the eastern Ukraine region near Donetsk, Ukraine, 18 July 2014. A Malaysia Airlines plane with 295 people on board crashed at 17 July in eastern Ukraine, and both the government and separatist rebels fighting in the area denied shooting it down. All passengers on board Flight MH17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur are feared dead. Malaysia Airlines said that it lost contact with Flight MH17 at 1415 GMT, about 50 kilometres from the Russia-Ukraine border. The plane was carrying 280 passengers and 15 crew members, the airline said.  EPA/ANASTASIA VLASOVA
Many belongings were completely undamaged, with T-shirts, suitcase 
Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 shot down over Ukraine-Russian border. 07/18/2014  Crash site of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 near Shakhtyorsk, Donetsk Region
Aircraft and helicopter parts as well as dogs and pigeons were among the items being carried on the downed plane, according to the manifest 
The huge crash site still smelt of jet fuel on Friday, with personal belongings scattered far and wide.
They included a pink children’s book, stickers, Children’s playing cards, slippers, cologne and a bicycle, seemingly undamaged, according to The New York Times.
Aircraft and helicopter parts as well as dogs and pigeons were among the items being carried on the downed plane, according to the manifest.
As well as the dogs, the manifest lists other live birds as well as textiles, diplomatic mail and fresh-cut flowers.
The paperwork looks all in order, with the items signed for and instructions about the required temperature in which the goods should be stored.
The flight number is marked clearly on the top of each page as well as the date of July 17 and a registration number. Point of loading is marked as Schiphol airport in Amsterdam, with the unloading point listed as Kuala Lumpur.
Grim task: A group of Ukrainian miners assist rescue workers in the search for bodies of victims in a Ukrianian wheat field
Grim task: A group of Ukrainian miners assist rescue workers in the search for bodies of victims in a Ukrianian wheat field
Emergency workers, police officers and even coal miners spread out across the sunflower fields and villages of eastern Ukraine, searching the wreckage of MH17
Emergency workers, police officers and even coal miners spread out across the sunflower fields and villages of eastern Ukraine, searching the wreckage of MH17
All hand on deck: Coal miners help with the search effort at the crash site near the village of Rozsypne in eastern Ukraine
All hand on deck: Coal miners help with the search effort at the crash site near the village of Rozsypne in eastern Ukraine
A local farmer said: ‘I was herding my cows and heard a buzzing noise.
‘I lay on the ground and thinking only that it would not hit me and my cows. Then I looked and saw that something turns sharply and two big wings were flying. Bang. And something explodes. It came from eastern side, from the side of Sokholikha mountain.’
David Cameron has insisted that those responsible for the apparent shooting down of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 must be 'brought to account' amid deepening tensions with Russia.
The prime minister described the catastrophe, in which nine Britons died, as an 'absolutely appalling, shocking, horrific incident' that 'cannot be allowed to stand'.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in an initial response, said it was too early to decide on further sanctions before it was known exactly what had happened to the plane.
The response came as the United Nations Security Council approved a statement calling for a 'full, thorough and independent international investigation' into the crash.
The Ukrainian government has blamed rebels using Russian-supplied surface-to-air missiles for the tragedy, while the Kremlin has accused Kiev of failing to agree a ceasefire.









Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk


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