MH17 Crash: Dutch ‘Angry, Furious’ About Mistreatment Of Victims

The Dutch are reportedly furious about reports that the bodies of victims of the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 crash are receiving less than appropriate treatment by Ukranian authorities — or whoever is in charge of the crash site. The Netherlands suffered the most in the downing of the plane, allegedly at the hands of pro-Russian insurgents who fired a missile to bring the plane down.

Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans is livid at the reports from Ukraine that indicate bodies are being dragged around the area where the plane went down without proper identification and authorization to do so. On Saturday, the official met with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to protest the situation:

“We are already shocked by the news we got today of bodies being dragged around, of the site not being treated properly… People are angry, furious.”

Out of the 295 passengers and crew that were killed when flight MH17 was brought down, nearly two-thirds, 193, were Dutch. People in the Netherlands are in shock as they come to the realization that so many of their nationals were on board the doomed flight.

Timmermans insisted that his government wants to know who is responsible so they can be brought to justice for the downing of the innocent victims of MH17.

“Once we have the proof, we will not stop before the people are brought to justice. Not just the people who pulled the trigger but also those who made it possible. I think the international community needs to step up its efforts in this respect.”

Gruesome photos of the crash site have been published in newspapers all around the world and on the internet. According to locals who were shocked when flight MH17 crashed on top of them, it was raining bodies, some of which fell on residential homes. There have also been reports of drunken rebels disturbing the crime scene, taking bodies and personal belongings, and preventing investigators and journalists from entering the immediate area.

In the Netherlands, people are in shock and everyone is talking about the crash of MH17. Flags are flying at half staff in honor of the many Dutch citizens killed.

“People are shocked and simply don’t know what to say,” said Jan de Jong, 49, of Amsterdam, according to USA Today. “It’s bizarre and surreal — I mean it is already horrible that a plane crashes, but the fact that it happened allegedly as a result of a missile attack makes it harder to take in.”

The crash of flight MH17 is the biggest airline tragedy to affect the Netherlands since the 1977 crash in Tenerife, when a KLM aircraft crashed with a Pan Am plane, killing 583 people on both airliners. All but eight of the 248 people on board the KLM plane were Dutch nationals. This is the deadliest airline accident in history.

[Image via katatonia82 / Shutterstock.com]