Only 62 bodies found at MH17 site were intact, says IGP

KHALID: The body parts are strewn over 15 square-kilometres... there's a lot of work to be done.

Only 62 bodies found at the MH17 crash site were in one piece. This was the revelation by Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar yesterday.

He believed the remaining uncollected bodies, scattered around the MH17 crash site amid debris, were pieces of body parts.

"They (body parts) were strewn over 15 square-kilometres... there's a lot of work to be done.

"We really hope to get to the scene and get the assistance of the locals to help us identify where the remains, which have yet to be collected, are," he told Astro AWANI in an exclusive interview from Kiev.

While he was confident in finding the cause of the tragedy, especially with the help of experts, Khalid said he was unsure of how long the investigation will take to complete.

It was bad enough that investigators had taken this long to get to the crash site because of the security situation and procedures, he said.

"Each country has their own laws and systems. We don't have a choice. We have to respect the laws and systems of the countries involved," he said.

Khalid also admitted that the crash site has been left idle for too long and some of the evidence might have been tampered with.

However, they still need to get to the site and secure whatever that's left, he added.

Flight MH17, which was carrying 283 passengers and 15 crew members, was allegedly shot down by separatists in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, while on its way from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on July 17. - Astro Awani, Aug 2, 2014