Seventh flight with six MH17 victims’ coffins arrives in Eindhoven

Six more coffins containing the remains of people killed in the MH17 crash in July arrived back in the Netherlands on Friday afternoon.

Prime minister Mark Rutte and several other ministers were at Eindhoven airport to receive the coffins in the same solemn ceremony as at six previous events. The coffins were then taken in a slow procession to Hilversum where the remains will be identified by forensic experts.

Before leaving The Hague for Eindhoven, Rutte said the country was united in mourning. ‘The Netherlands has shown in an extraordinary way that we are in sympathy with everyone who has been affected by this terrible disaster,’ he said.

Friday’s ceremony was the seventh and possibly last time that human remains will be repatriated from Ukraine, where the Malaysian airways plane came down, after being hit by a missile.

All 298 people on board were killed, most of whom were Dutch. Nine of the victims have still not been identified.