MH17: Victims’ relatives told plane was shot down by Russian-made BUK missile

The cousin of a woman killed on Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 says that the official investigation into the cause of the disaster last year by the Dutch Safety Board (DSB) has concluded that a Russian-made BUK missile downed the plane. Robby Oehlers, whose cousin Daisy was among the 298 people killed when the Boeing 777 was shot down over eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014, says the conclusion was shared with family members at a meeting. The meeting with families of victims came ahead of the official presentation of the 15-month investigation’s final report. The inquiry has not indicated who fired the rocket, an issue that will be addressed by criminal investigators. Both the Russian and Ukrainian militaries have BUK missile systems in their arsenal

Quiet as a mouse.

Robby Oehlers, cousin of one of the victims, describes the atmosphere as the families were told the news

The Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur Boeing 777 was flying over rebel-controlled eastern Ukraine when it was shot down. The DSB has focused on what caused the crash and the issue of flying over areas of conflict. It also examined why Dutch relatives had to wait for up to four days for confirmation that their loved ones had died, and to what extent the passengers were conscious before the plane hit the ground. The investigation was led by Holland because 196 of the victims were Dutch. A reconstruction of the sections of the plane that were critical to the investigation will be unveiled at the base, where much of the wreckage was taken for examination by crash investigators.

Consistent with the damage that would be expected from a large number of high-energy objects that penetrated the aircraft from outside.

A preliminary report by the DSB in September last year describing the wreckage