FLIGHT MH17 - It is hell and it smells of death

The Malaysian Insider

As rescue workers begin to recover bodies of the victims in the MH17 crash near the eastern Ukranian village of Grabovo, the Economist offers a glimpse into the devastation.

It reported that locals there are in shock, just like the rebel fighters in the troubled Ukrainian region near its border with Russia.

The cluster of rebel fighters had grown thicker along the roads, and a local commander known as Aleksey said "this is not a disaster".

“It is hell," he was quoted by the English weekly news magazine.

In the story on its website today, the Economist described that the field, where the plane crashed, was "filled with bodies".

One body has jeans on, but no shoes. A second is in a polo shirt and grey socks, one of which is charred. A third body is in blue trousers, but his face cannot be seen, it is under the wreckage of the plane.

One, in black leggings, rests next to a black duffle bag, which is somehow intact. A green luggage strap lies in the grass like a snake.

A dead boy of about 10 years old lies with his face frozen in fear. He is still strapped to his mangled blue chair, the belt tight across his lap.

He has one shoe left on, and patterned socks. One victim kept his black shirt on, but lost half of his face.

The report mentioned that someone commented about the smell - acrid and heavy.

Death smells that way, the Economist's correspondent wrote.

A fighter stationed there said the passengers fell “from incredible heights”.

He said as the passengers came down, many were “undressed by the air”.

Natalia, who is from Grabovo, said the locals thought the rebels were there to attack them.

“We thought that they were bombing us,” Natalia said, referring to the Ukrainian forces who skirmish almost daily with pro-Russian separatists in surrounding towns.

What happened is a huge change for the locals.

A local man nicknamed "Tuna", who is also one of the rebels, said nothing had happened there for 30 years.

Now, rescue workers are trying to find the bodies of the almost 300 people who fell with the plane.

They mark the bodies' locations with bits of white cloth tied to stakes, as they do what they can to cover the vast area.

Firefighters also tried to put out the fire from the wreckage but it took time because their hoses had holes.

They were not ready for this, The Economist reported.

Eastern Ukraine has been at war for nearly three months but there are now 298 people from various nations dead because of it.

MH17 was allegedly shot down by Russian-backed anti-Ukraine separatists when it was flying above Ukraine from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur last night with a Malaysian crew of 15 and 283 passengers.

It was reported that the passengers included Dutch Senator Willem Witteveen, and renowned AIDS activist and former president of the International Aids Society Joep Lange.

Many others were regular people going home to their families, leaving for a holiday, or travelling for business. – July 18, 2014.

Source: https://my.news.yahoo.com