MH17: Preliminary report to be out this month - Liow

A preliminary report on the Malaysia Airlines (MAS) Flight MH17 tragedy will be tabled by the investigation committee based in the Netherlands this month, said Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai.

He said it was important to provide a guide for a more detailed investigation to find out the cause of the tragedy, which claimed the lives of all the 298 passengers and crew on board the ill-fated plane.

"There will only be one report, that is from the investigation committee which we (Malaysia) are part of, no other reports will be issued, not from Malaysia or any other country that is involved," Liow, who is also MCA president, told reporters after attending a party function here Wednesday night.

Also present was Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong, who is also MCA deputy president.

Flight MH17 crashed in eastern Ukraine on July 17 as it was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur with 283 passengers and 15 crew on board. The Boeing 777-200 aircraft is believed to have been shot down over the troubled country.

Besides Malaysians, nationals from the Netherlands, Australia, Indonesia, the United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium, the Philippines, Canada and New Zealand were among the 298 passengers and crew on board.

In a related development, Liow said the investigation committee identified the remains of another Malaysian victim on Wednesday, bringing the number of Malaysian victims identified so far to 33.

Ten more Malaysian victims have not been accounted for.