HRABOVO, July 31 (RIA Novosti) – A group of international observers and experts, who arrived at the crash site of the Malaysian Boeing in eastern Ukraine earlier Thursday, have come under mortar fire, a RIA Novosti correspondent reported from the scene.
The Dutch and Australian experts and police officers, as well as monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) were working in the crash zone near the village of Hrabovo when mortar rounds started to explode some 100 meters (330 feet) away.
The team is currently considering the possibility of leaving the site over security concerns.
The group had unsuccessfully tried to enter the area since Monday and finally arrived at the crash site earlier Thursday.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko promised to stop attacks in the area, but later Ukrainian officials announced that they planned to “clean up” the territory from militia, and fighting intensified.
Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin said Wednesday Moscow is concerned Kiev authorities are trying to destroy evidence of the tragedy that happened to the Malaysian plane.
Malaysia Airlines MH17 en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur went down in Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine on July 17. All 298 people on board, including 85 children and 15 crew members, died in the crash.
