Updated

Rescue workers, policemen and even off-duty coal miners are combing the area adjacent to the site in eastern Ukraine where a Malaysian jetliner crashed on Thursday, killing all 298 aboard.

The cause of the crash was not immediately clear. Ukraine has accused pro-Russian separatists who control the area of shooting down the plane, a claim they denied. American intelligence authorities said a surface-to-air missile brought the plane down but were still working on who fired the missile.

Coal miners joined the rescue effort early Friday morning. Police and rescue teams were combing the area, looking for bodies and debris.

An Associated Press journalist saw bodies and body parts strewn across the field outside the village of Rozsypne about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) away from the crash site.