SHAH ALAM, 22 Aug: A special Boeing 747 aircraft carrying the remains of the first group of 20 Malaysians who were killed in the MH17 tragedy safely arrived from Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and landed at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) at 10.00 am.
After 37 days, finally the remains were greeted reverently through the MH17 Tragedy Tribute Ceremony which was held at the KLIA Bunga Raya Complex in Sepang.
17 out of the 20 remains were brought in coffins while three were brought in ashes.
They will all be taken back to their homes before being buried according to their beliefs.
The tribute ceremony was also attended by the Yang Di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Badlishah, and the Raja Permaisuri Agong, Tuanku Sultanah Haminah Hamidun, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and his wife, as well as several other national leaders.
Also present was the Chief Minister of Selangor, Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim.
All the remains were brought home by the pilot and crew of the MH6129; Flight Officer Yap Yoon Kong, Captain Bakri Othman, Datuk Captain Misman Leham and Captain Zaim Khalid.
The MH17 aircraft was shot down in Ukraine on July 17 when the aircraft carrying 298 passengers, including 15 crew members, departed from Amsterdam at 12.15pm (Dutch time) on Thursday and was supposed to arrive in Kuala Lumpur at 6.10 (Malaysian time) on Friday).
The Boeing 777 aircraft was believed to have been shot down, but so far, no one has claimed responsibility.
NS
