MH17 crash: Reports black boxes sent to Moscow are unverified, says Liow

SEPANG: Reports that black boxes from the downed Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flight MH17 have been recovered by pro-Russia separatists and are being sent to Moscow have yet to be officially confirmed, said Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai.

"I have heard about it, but it has yet to be verified. All this will be verified, as we have not received any official notes from the Ukraine authorities," said Liow.

He said this when asked at a press conference at the Sama-Sama Hotel here on Friday evening. 

According to the Russian news agency Interfax, the news of recovery of the black boxes came from officials from the breakaway Donestsk Republic.

“Of course, we most likely will give them to the Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC), to Moscow. They are highly qualified experts who will be able to accurately determine the cause of the disaster, even though it is so clear,” the report quotes Donestsk Republic First Deputy Prime Minister Andriy Purgin as saying.

MH17 disappeared from radar screens in eastern Ukraine at around 1415 GMT on Thursday, hours after the Boeing 777, bound for Kuala Lumpur, had taken off from Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport.

It is believed to have been accidentally shot down 50km from the Ukraine-Russia border.

All 298 passengers and crew on board, including 43 Malaysians, are believed to have perished.

The area is currently being held by pro-Russian separatists.