Belgium involved in MH17 repatriation mission

Belgium will assist in the repatriation mission of flight MH17 which crashed in Eastern Ukraine on July 17. At the request of the Netherlands, Belgium is sending two search-and-rescue dogs and their guides to the site of the crash. The crew will stay there at least until August 10, says the Belgian Ministry of the Interior.

The tracking dogs will help in recovering the bodies of the victims, “in order to accelerate research in the field and return the bodies to the families of the victims,” wrote the Ministry of the Interior in a press release.

In total, 298 people died in the crash, among them six Belgians.