Dutch experts help recover MH17 crash items despite nearby clashes

Members of the recovery team work at the site where the downed Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 crashed, near the village of Hrabove (Grabovo) in Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, October 13, 2014. REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov

HRABOVE Ukraine (Reuters) - Four Dutch experts and local emergency services made a start on Monday recovering personal belongings from the crash site of Malaysia Airlines MH17 last summer in east Ukraine, carting away boxes of personal possessions despite fighting nearby.

But the leader of the Dutch team coordinating the repatriation mission said the aim was still to get a Dutch team on site to comb the crash area, despite the fighting between government troops and separatist rebels.