Malaysia on August 14 declared a national day of mourning for its citizens killed in the MH17 plane crash on August 22.

According to Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, the first 16 bodies from Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, downed over eastern Ukraine last month, are set to arrive in Kuala Lumpur from the Netherlands on August 22.

A solemn ceremony commemorating them will be held at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport on the same day, in the presence of the King, the Prime Minister and other senior Government officials together with families of the victims.

The names of the victims will be only announced at the ceremony, he added.

Malaysian Airlines’ Boeing 777-200 plane was shot down in eastern Ukraine on July 17 when it was en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur . All 298 crew members and passengers on board, including 43 Malaysians, were killed in the accident.

(Source: VNA)