Crash victims to be flown to the Netherlands

The refrigerated train carrying the remains of those killed aboard Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 has reached the government-controlled city of Kharkiv

A refrigerated train carrying the bodies of victims of the downed passenger airliner arrives in Kharkiv.
A refrigerated train carrying the bodies of victims of the downed passenger airliner arrives in Kharkiv.

A refrigerated train carrying the bodies of victims of the MH17 tragedy pulled into a station in Kharkiv, a government-controlled city where Ukrainian authorities have set up their crash investigation center.

A first set of bodies recovered from the Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crash site is expected to be transported to the Netherlands today, where forensics experts will begin the complex task of identifying the victims and returning them to their loved ones.

The black boxes from the downed plane were handed over to Malaysian officials Monday.

In Brussels, European Union foreign ministers were discussing whether to impose more sanctions in response to the disaster.

Europe and the United States have imposed targeted economic sanctions against Russia for supporting Ukraine's five-month insurgency that began after pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted by protesters in February.

The Dutch government has declared Wednesday a national day of mourning. Of the 298 victims of the plane crash, 193 were from the Netherlands.