Malaysia team due in Kiev as PM calls for access to crash site

A Malaysian disaster response team including two air accident investigators was due in Kiev on Saturday, after the country’s leader appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin to help them gain access to the MH17 crash site. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak told reporters on Friday that he spoke to Putin by phone to stress the need for an objective, unfettered probe into the crash that killed 298 people, amid concerns the site was vulnerable to tampering. ‘I also told Putin that the site should not be tampered (with) before the team begins its investigation,’ he was quoted as saying by Malaysian national news agency Bernama. The Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 came down in cornfields in a separatist-held region, with the United States claiming it was shot down in a missile attack, a possible casualty of Ukraine’s battle with pro-Russian rebels. A 62-strong Malaysian team was expected to arrive in Kiev early Saturday, a Malaysia Airlines source said, according to AFP.