MALAYSIA AIRLINES CRASH: FLIGHT RECORDER FOUND AS ANGER AT RUSSIA MOUNTS – LIVE UPDATES

US criticises Russia for arming rebels
Airlines change flight paths to avoid Ukraine
Nine British passengers on board
US officials say surface-to-air missile caused crash
Ukrainian, Russian and rebel leaders deny involvement

- Matthew Weaver
- theguardian.com, Friday 18 July 2014 10.12 BST
- Jump to comments (626)

Live stream from Reuters of the aftermath of the crash

A piece of the wreckage of a Malaysia Airlines plane at the site of its crash. Photograph: Dzhavakhadze Zurab/ITAR-TASS Photo/Corbis

People walk amongst the debris. Photograph: Dmitry Lovetsky/Corbis

Ukrainian coal miners assist in the search of the site. Photograph: Dmitry Lovetsky/AP

25m ago

Australia is to send 11 officials to Ukraine, its department for foreign affairs and trade said.
In a statement it said:

Eleven DFAT officials are being deployed to Ukraine, including the Australian ambassador in Warsaw who is accredited to Ukraine, a regional consular officer, and a five member Emergency Response Team. Their role will be to liaise with Ukrainian authorities concerning the recovery, identification and repatriation of Australians.
The identification and repatriation process is expected to be complex and to take time; it is important not to speculate about how quickly these processes might be undertaken, given the challenges of the site.