Flight 17 victims' bodies are finally headed home

The refrigerated Ukrainian train carrying bodies from the Flight 17 plane downed on July 17 has left the town of Torez in eastern Ukraine, following hours of tense negotiations between international investigators and pro-Russian rebels, according to the BBC.

Ukrainian officials told the BBC that the train is transporting 280 bodies. That's less than the 298 people who were killed when the missile struck the plane.

The government of Ukraine planned to transport the bodies to Kharkiv, before flying them to the Netherlands, where the Malysia Airlines flight had taken off. However, the government had previously claimed that the train could not move, as the tracks were being blocked by pro-Russian separatists, who are suspected of shooting the plane down and interfering with the crash site.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

But now, at least, the victims of the missile attack are finally on their way home.