Two military aircraft carrying the first bodies of victims of the Malaysia Airlines crash left eastern Ukraine on Wednesday, bringing some consolation to grieving relatives who still must wait for positive identifications and answers about who caused the disaster.

A departure ceremony was held for the victims prior to their departure from the airport in Kharkiv which was attended by representatives from the Netherlands, Australia and Ukraine.

The crash on Thursday killed all 298 people - most of them Dutch citizens - aboard Malaysia Airlines Flight 17.

Two military transport planes, one Dutch and one Australian, departed at midday local time (1000 GMT), heading for Eindhoven air base, to be met by Dutch King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima, Prime Minister Mark Rutte and hundreds of relatives.

Dutch government spokesman Lodewijk Hekking said about 60 coffins were expected, but the number wasn't immediately confirmed.

There was confusion as well about how many of the 282 corpses which the rebels said they have found were on the train which arrived in Kharkiv, a government-controlled city, on Tuesday.

Jan Tuinder, the Dutch official in charge of the international team dealing with the dead, said that at least 200 bodies were aboard the train and that more remains could be found once the body bags are

examined fully.

Wreckage from the aircraft fell on territory controlled by pro-Russian separatists who have been battling the Kiev government since April.

US officials say the plane was probably shot down by a missile, most likely by accident.

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1. Coffin carried to plane as military salute

2. Various rear of plane as coffin is carried in to it

3. Various of another coffin carried to the plane

4. Plane on tarmac with military and others in foreground

5. Military standing to attention with officials behind

6. Military standing to attention, with coffins at ceremony for the victims

7. SOUNDBITE: (English) Angus Houston, Former Australian Defence Force Chief and Special Envoy in Kharkiv:

"We are here today as representatives of many nations touched by the tragedy of Flight 17, to honour all of those who are lost and to pay our respects to them as they begin their journey home."

8. Military with coffins during ceremony

9. SOUNDBITE: (English) Hans Docter, Dutch Government Representative:

"It still will be along journey. We have a painful identification process to go through that will take time but the dutch government wants to assure family members and all those concerned that we want to do the identification as quickly as possible with full respect to human dignity."

10. Various of military with coffins at ceremony

11. SOUNDBITE: (Ukrainian) Volodymyr Groysman, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister:

"We are absolutely sure we have gathered here today with the concerns of the families in mind. We have gathered here to pay a final tribute to those who have perished in this horrible disaster."

12. Plane taking off

Authorities of the government-held city of Kharkiv said on Sunday they were ready to receive the wreckage of the Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 as well as the bodies of those who died in the crash.

Russian news agencies said the bodies were heading to the rebel stronghold of Donetsk.

Ukrainian officials say they expect to have the bodies eventually delivered to Kharkiv, but it's unclear if the rebels will agree to do so.

Vasyl Khoma, the deputy of governor of the Kharkiv region, where the Ukrainian government has set up a crisis centre to coordinate its response to the disaster, said the Ukrainian state railway company had provided the refrigerated train cars.

"We prepared a storage in the Kharkiv region to collect the plane wreckage," he added.

His statement came after armed rebels forced emergency workers to hand over all 196 bodies recovered from the Malaysia Airlines crash site earlier on Sunday.

Then they had them loaded onto refrigerated train cars bound for a rebel-held city, according to Ukrainian officials and monitors.

The surprising, rapid-fire developments Sunday morning came after a wave of international outrage over how the bodies of plane crash victims were being handled and amid fears that the armed rebels who control the territory where the plane came down were tampering with the evidence.

Ukraine and the separatists accuse each other of firing a surface-to-air missile Thursday at Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over eastern Ukraine, killing almost 300 people.

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1. Wide of Vasyl Khoma, Deputy Head of Kharkiv Region at press conference

2. Journalists

3. SOUNDBITE (Ukrainian) Vasyl Khoma, Deputy Head of Kharkiv Region:

"We prepared a storage in the Kharkiv region to collect the plane wreckage and we have railways there to bring the victims by train and make a DNA analysis."

4. Cutaway of press conference

5. Cutaway of photographer

6. SOUNDBITE (Ukrainian) Vasyl Khoma, Deputy head of Kharkiv region:

"This storage was chosen for security measures to keep the plane wreckage safely. This shelter is large and the investigation process will take place there."

7. Wide of press conference

Two more planes departed Kharkiv airport on Friday with a further 74 coffins containing bodies and remains from the Malaysian Airways MH17 crash in eastern Ukraine.

One Dutch Hercules C-130 plane and an Australian Boeing C17 cargo plane departed after Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and her Dutch counterpart Frans Timmermans spoke to the crews of the two planes.

"We have a very clear idea of what caused the crash. But there is more evidence on the site that will obviously add to the jigsaw of what occurred on the 17th of July," Bishop said.

"We are determined to find who was responsible for this act and find out who was responsible for the circumstances that gave rise to it," she added.

Australia is planning on sending dozens of police officers to the crash site near Donetsk in eastern Ukraine.

All 298 people aboard Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 were killed when the plane went down on 17 July.

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1. Dutch Hercules C-130 plane behind fence

2. Dutch plane on tarmac

3. Wide of Dutch plane on the tarmac

4. Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop speaking to crew of plane

5. Dutch plane on the tarmac

6. Convoy of cars including police car at front driving on the tarmac

7. Plane with propeller running

8. Plane departing

9. Julie Bishop speaking to media

10. SOUNDBITE: (English), Julie Bishop, Australian Foreign Minister:

"We have a very clear idea of what caused the crash. But there is more evidence on the site that will obviously add to the jigsaw of what occurred on the 17th of July. And we are determined to find who was responsible for this act and who was responsible for creating the circumstances that gave rise to it."

11. Cutaway of Bishop speaking to media

12. SOUNDBITE: (English), Julie Bishop, Australian Foreign Minister:

"This will be a police-led humanitarian mission. And there will be body identification experts, forensic experts. And of course we will insure that they are safe, that they will have protection."

13. Australian C17 military cargo plane

14. Coffins being carried on to plane

15. Australian C17 plane departing