Final MH17 Crash Report Due In October

The Dutch Safety Board has announced that the final report into the downing of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine last year will be published on October 13.

All 298 people on board the plane, travelling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, were killed in the crash last year.

Two thirds of the victims were Dutch, and the country is leading the judicial and air safety investigations into the crash.

In a preliminary report last year, the Dutch Safety Board blamed the crash on "high energy objects" striking the aircraft.

Western governments have said they believe it was downed by a ground-to-air missile fired in error by Moscow-backed separatists.

Russia contests that claim, and has variously attributed the crash to an unidentified Ukrainian fighter aircraft and a Ukrainian-launched anti-aircraft missile.

Last month, Russia vetoed a UN Security Council resolution to establish an international tribunal to find and try those responsible for the Boeing 777's downing.

Based on reporting by Reuters and AFP