Coffins of the victims of Malaysia Airlines MH17 downed over rebel-held territory in eastern Ukraine are loaded into hearses on the tarmac during a national reception ceremony at the Netherlands' Eindhoven airport Wednesday. The Netherlands declared Wednesday the country's first day of mourning in more than half a century.
People lay flowers in front of a plane prior a ceremony to mark the return of the first bodies of passengers and crew killed in the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, at Eindhoven military air base, Wednesday. After being removed from the planes, the bodies were to be taken in a convoy of hearses to a military barracks in the central city of Hilversum, where forensic experts will begin the painstaking task of identifying the bodies and returning them to their loved ones.
Coffins of the victims of Malaysia Airlines MH17 downed over rebel-held territory in eastern Ukraine, are carried from an aircraft during a national reception ceremony at Eindhoven airport in the Netherlands on Wednesday. The remains of the victims of the downing of the flight, 193 of whom were Dutch, will be brought over the next few days to a military base in Hilversum, the Netherlands.
A mother and her two children step back after leaving flowers for the victims killed in the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 plane crash at the Korporaal van Oudheusden barracks in Hilversum, Netherlands, on Wednesday. Bells pealed and flags flew at half-mast as the bodies of victims arrived in the Netherlands.
King Willem-Alexander, left, Queen Maxima and Prime Minister Mark Rutte, right, observe a minute of silence during a ceremony to mark the return of the first bodies of passengers and crew killed in the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 at Eindhoven military air base, in Eindhoven, Netherlands, Wednesday.
Volunteers pull on ropes to ring the Salvator Bell in the Dom tower in Utrecht, Netherlands, during a national day of mourning Wednesday for the victims of the downed Malaysia Airlines flight MH17.
Flight attendants and mourners gather near flower bouquets as they pay their respects at Schiphol Airport during a national day of mourning for the victims of the downed Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, in the Netherlands on Wednesday.
People embrace while paying their respects at Schiphol Airport during a national day of mourning for the victims of the downed Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, in Schiphol, the Netherlands.
