Two military aircraft carrying the bodies of some of the victims of the Malaysia Airlines crash left eastern Ukraine bringing some consolation to grieving relatives who still must wait for positive identifications and answers about who caused the disaster.
The Dutch government declared a day of national mourning as the country prepared for the arrival of the first bodies in the afternoon. The crash killed all 298 people -- most of them Dutch citizens -- aboard Malaysia Airlines flight.
Two military transport planes, one Dutch and one Australian, departed at midday, heading for Eindhoven air base, to be met by Dutch King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima, Prime Minister Mark Rutte and hundreds of relatives.
For days, Dutch police officers have been visiting the bereaved across the Netherlands -- home to 193 of the dead -- seeking information about distinguishing features and collecting DNA samples for use in identifying the remains.
That process will start at a military barracks in the Dutch town of Hilversum, after the first planes carrying remains arrive in the Netherlands on a national day of mourning.
Meanwhile, people continued to pay their respects to the victims of the crash at a memorial at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport.
