BBC Online :
Malaysians observed a moment of silence following the arrival in Kuala Lumpur of the bodies of 20 Malaysian victims of Flight MH17 that crashed in Ukraine in July.
A specially chartered plane took off from Amsterdam and landed around 10:00 local time (02:00 GMT). National flags are flying at half-mast for the day of mourning.
Flight MH17 is believed to have been shot down by a missile fired by pro-Russian rebels. They deny the claim.
From office workers to train drivers, many among the nation of 30 million observed a minute’s silence as white hearses drove the remains from the airport to private funerals in various provinces.
The country’s public transportation, including the national rail system and Kuala Lumpur’s monorail, paused during the minute of silence.
Prime Minister Najib Razak, who turned his Twitter and Facebook pages black, wrote a condolence message that was widely shared.
This was a full state occasion. The flag-draped coffins were solemnly shouldered by soldiers clad in white and gold, and the procession of hearses driven slowly past the King and the Prime Minister.
It is unusual for civilian victims of an air accident to be accorded this kind of honour; but then this has been an extraordinary, unlucky year for Malaysia’s aviation industry.
Very little has been said in the build-up to this Day of Mourning about that other flight, MH370.
It must be assumed that the 239 people on board that Malaysian Airlines plane are dead, but with no wreckage, no bodies, and no explanation of what happened, it has been impossible to hold the kind of ceremony held today.
