Graphic new video of MH17 site angers Australian politicians
This article was edited to correct grammatical errors.
New video footage of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 disaster has surfaced on the one year anniversary of the tragedy. This footage is believed to have been recorded shortly after the crash by Russian-backed rebels themselves.
The video shows rebels walking among the wreckage, looking through victims' belongings. They talk about the downed plane, in both Russian and Ukrainian, and seem to be shocked that it is a passenger aircraft.
At one point the commander is on the phone with someone else, talking about two airplanes. They seem to think that a Ukrainian fighter jet was also shot down and are looking for the occupants of the Sukhoi, at one point mentioning a pilot seen crawling away.
According to the commander, the Sukhoi shot down MH17 before it was shot out of the air itself. After the commander takes a call, he orders that all civilians be removed from the area and that all filming must stop immediately. He tells those filming to make sure that their faces are not shown while they go through the bags.
He then instructs his men to find the black box and put everything in his car. The video is embedded below. Be warned that the footage can be quite shocking and may not be suitable to sensitive viewers.
The video was discovered by Australian news organization News Corp Australia and has been handed over to the multinational Joint Investigation Team handling the investigation into the cause of the disaster. Australia's political leaders have reacted horrified to this new footage.
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said that it was "sickening to watch". Prime Minister Tony Abbot called it "an atrocity".
