World

Rescue teams still working on the scene of Malaysian plane crash

Associated Press
Published | Updated

Ukrainian rescuers walk past debris at the crash site of a passenger plane near the village of Hrabove, Ukraine, Thursday, July 17, 2014. Ukraine said a passenger plane was shot down Thursday as it flew over the country, and both the government and the pro-Russia separatists fighting in the region denied any responsibility for downing the plane. (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky) (The Associated Press)

People hold candles and place flower tribute outside the Dutch embassy to commemorate victims of Malaysia Airlines plane crash in Kiev, Ukraine, Thursday, July 17, 2014. A Malaysian Airlines passenger jet was shot down in eastern Ukraine on Thursday, and both the Ukrainian government and pro-Russian rebels blamed one another for the attack.(AP Photo/Sergei Chuzavkov) (The Associated Press)

This image taken from video, Thursday July 17, 2014, shows a guidebook found in the wreckage of a passenger plane after it was shot down Thursday as it flew over Ukraine, near the village of Hrabove, in eastern Ukraine. Malaysia Airlines tweeted that it lost contact with one of its flights as it was traveling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur over Ukrainian airspace. (AP Photo/Channel 1) RUSSIA OUT - TV OUT (The Associated Press)

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.