(Reuters) — The first 20 bodies of the Malaysian victims on board Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 arrived back on home soil on Friday (August 22), more than a month after the airliner was shot down over eastern Ukraine.
In a sombre ceremony, coffins draped in the Malaysian national flag were brought out of a specially chartered Malaysia Airlines flight by members of the armed forces. They were then driven away for private funerals.
Officials have declared Friday a national day of mourning, asking Malaysians across the country to observe a minute’s silence and wear black in honour of the victims.
Forty-three Malaysian nationals were on board the plane travelling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, including 15 crew members and two infants. Some of the victims are still to be identified, authorities said.
The jetliner was carrying 298 people when it was downed on July 17. It is suspected to have been hit by a surface-to-air missile.