At the crash site near the village of Hrabove, a few rebel fighters accompanied
observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. The
farmland where the wreckage is scattered was otherwise unguarded and
unsecured. Even the red-and-white tape that had sealed off the fields was torn
away.
In some places, the smell of decay and flies suggested the presence of
remains under the wreckage, and observers said Monday that not all bodies
had been recovered.
About 70 villagers, most of them older women wearing headscarves, gathered
across the road from the site to sing Ukrainian Orthodox hymns at a memorial
service led by several black-robed priests.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
27