MH17 crash: Victims' kin can visit reconstructed wreckage site

Malaysian Transport minister Liow Tiong Lai Saturday said the relatives of passengers and crew of the crashed Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flight MH17 can visit a reconstructed wreckage site in the Netherlands.

Flight MH17, en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, crashed July 17, 2014, in eastern Ukraine killing all 298 passengers and crew on board.

Liow said the Dutch Safety Board had announced that the next-of-kin (NOK) could see the wreckage at the Royal Netherlands Air Force base in the first week of March, the Malaysian Star reported.

Liow, however, denied receiving any official invitation from Dutch authorities and said the ministry could only facilitate the visit once Netherlands sends an invitation.

"Also, we will let the NOK decide whether they want to see the wreckage. It is a traumatic experience and we do not want to force any NOK to visit," he said.

On the search for flight MH370 which is missing March 8, 2014, Liow revealed that teams had covered 40 percent of the targeted search area in the southern Indian Ocean.

"We will not give up but will increase our efforts in search of the plane," he said.

Liow further expressed his hope that the search for the missing aircraft could be concluded by May.

The aircraft, with 239 passengers and crew on board, disappeared on its way to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur. No trace of the aircraft has been found even after months of international aerial, ground and underwater searches.