Flowers and tears for air crash victims

Children in tribute to 298 killed in disaster over Ukraine

Children have silently placed flowers next to 298 candles – one for each victim of theMalaysia Airlines Flight 17 crash – at a sombreDutchcommemoration of the air disaster.

The nationally televised event in Amsterdam highlighted the ongoing grief, disbelief and anger of the families and friends of those killed when the Boeing 777 flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was downed on July 17 over c o n f l i c t - h i t eastern Ukraine.

Most of the victims were Dutch, but passengers and crew from 19 different countries died.

Gita Wiegel, 13, recalled cuddling her mother at Schiphol airport before she boarded Flight 17.

“The idea I would have to miss her for four weeks was terrible,” she said. “But this, this is far more terrible.

“The last SMS I got from her was ‘See you in four weeks, darling. Take good care of yourself’.”

Grieving relative Paul Marckelbach recited a poem, sobbing as he read the final word: “Why?”

Other relatives, some choking back tears, read out the names and ages of all 298 victims.

The list took 23 minutes to complete.

About 1,600 family and friends of the victims were joined for the event by Dutch King Willem- Alexander, QueenMaxima, PrimeMinisterMark Rutte and other dignitaries.

Questions about exactly what happened remain unanswered. The Dutch government has refrained from saying a missile downed the plane, but Dutch police and prosecutors carrying out a criminal investigation say a missile strike is the most likely scenario.

Thewreckage of Flight 17 is still strewn across fields in Ukraine. Dutch authorities hope to begin recovering the debris this week and bring it back to the Netherlands so crash investigators can reconstruct partof the plane to aid their probe into the cause.