King, Queen, Rutte to meet victim families today

Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima will join Prime Minister Mark Rutte and several Ministers and State Secretaries in a gathering today for surviving relatives of the 193 Dutch people who died in the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 crash in Ukraine. Family detectives and individuals from Victim Aid Netherlands will also be in attendance. The gathering will take place at the NBC Congress Center in Nieuwegein at 2 p.m. this afternoon, and will serve to give family and friends any information that has become available during the last few days pertaining to the crash. In a statement from the Netherlands Government Information Service, the Prime Minister says that The Netherlands is going to receive international coordination on the identification of the victims. This investigative team will be led by Dutch diplomat Gert Wibbelink. The families will receive updates on the process around repatriating the bodies of the crash victims, and when this will be done.

Today, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima signed the book of condolences for the victims of the MH17 crash #MH17 pic.twitter.com/Gx1SnaeGv8

— Royaltyspeaking (@Royal_talk) July 18, 2014