Malaysia said Sunday that it would send dozens of police to the Malaysian airliner's crash site in eastern Ukraine after pro-Russia separatists agreed to allow international police personnel to provide protection for investigators, according to Reuters.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said in a statement that he spoke with his counterparts from the Netherlands and Australia, and the three agreed to work together in deploying police personnel to the site, Reuters reported.
"So far, international air crash investigators have been unable to properly deploy across the vast crash site in eastern Ukraine and collect evidence due to ongoing security concerns, including continued military activity," the statement said.
European monitors said reports of fighting later in the day in the area had forced the cancellation of a trip to the crash site by a team of international police officers, according to Reuters.
Malaysia's statement earlier Sunday said that 68 Malaysian police personnel would leave Kuala Lumpur for the crash site on Wednesday as part of the international deployment, but it was not immediately clear whether the reports of fighting would cause Malaysia to reconsider those plans, Reuters reported.
Najib had reached an agreement with rebel leader Alexander Borodai last week to secure the handing over of the plane's black boxes and the remains of the victims, as well as to ensure safe access to the crash site, according to Reuters.
In Sunday's statement, Najib said Borodai had "agreed to allow a deployment of international police personnel to enter the crash site," Reuters reported.
Najib added the fighting and security concerns may be "preventing full and unfettered access to the site, and therefore a proper, independent investigation from being carried out," the report said, adding that "Malaysia is particularly concerned that some human remains may still be at the crash site," according to Reuters.
