A train carrying the remains of the victims recovered from the MH17 wreckage reached Kharkiv, Ukraine just before 7.40pm last night (AEST).
All remains will now be transferred to the Netherlands for identification and repatriation. This process will be methodical and may take some time.
The Prime Minister’s Special Envoy, Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston AC AFC (retired), is in Kharkiv for the ceremony marking the departure of the first caskets containing the victims’ remains.
A RAAF C17 aircraft, along with a Dutch aircraft, is expected to depart Kharkiv this evening. The task will continue until all the remains are transferred to the Netherlands.
More than 100 Australian officials from various agencies are being deployed to Ukraine and the Netherlands to support Operation Bring Them Home.
Late yesterday, I asked the Governor General, His Excellency General the Hon Sir Peter Cosgrove AK MC (retired) to leave Australia for the Netherlands. He will be present for the arrival of both the Dutch and the Australian aircraft.
It is important for the families and for our nation, that our people be received by one of our own.
The task of identifying the victims is a process that must be conducted carefully and accurately.
By its very nature, it may take some weeks before we can honour the dead by returning them to those they loved and those that loved them. But we will bring them home.
Once the Australian victims of MH17 have been identified, the Government will transport their families to the Netherlands, should they wish, so they can accompany their loved ones home.
Since the beginning the Government’s objectives have remained firm: to retrieve the bodies, to secure the site, to conduct the investigation and to obtain justice for the victims and their families.
The Australian Government will not rest until this is done.
23 July 2014