BBC Online :
The first planes carrying victims’ bodies from crashed flight MH17 have left Ukraine for the Netherlands, where experts will begin identifying them.
The Dutch prime minister will meet the planes in Eindhoven, amid a national day of mourning for the victims.
A total of 200 bodies have so far been accounted for from the 298 victims, 193 of whom were Dutch nationals.
The US says it believes pro-Russian rebels shot down the Malaysia Airlines passenger plane on 17 July by mistake.
The rebels, who control the area around the crash site, have also been accused of stalling the release of the bodies and tampering with evidence.
A refrigerated train carriage carrying about 200 bodies arrived at the government-held city of Kharkiv on Tuesday, four days after the crash. Experts said they would continue to search the crash site. On Wednesday morning, 40 coffins were slowly loaded on to two military planes at Kharkiv airport.
The BBC’s Daniel Sandford in Kharkiv says ambassadors, officials and soldiers gathered to see off the planes.
Australian government envoy Angus Houston said the ceremony was intended to give the victims the “respect and dignity they deserve” after a “tragedy of unspeakable proportions”.
Dutch government representative Hans Docter said the victims had begun their “long journey” home.
The first flight is due to arrive in Eindhoven at 16:00 local time (14:00 GMT) and will be met by members of the Dutch royal family and the Prime Minister Mark Rutte.
The bodies are then due to be taken to the Korporaal van Oudheusden barracks south of Hilversum for identification.
