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a team of special investigators from malaysia just arrived in kiev to try to work out what happened to flight 17.

>> bodies from the plane scattered across the countryside. now starting to decompose in the heat. u.s. officials say they believe the plane was brought down by a missile, possibly fired by pro-russia rebels. most likely with backing from russia. at united nations headquarters in new york on friday, the ambassador questioned why civilian planes had still been flying over eastern ukraine. >> translator: sure first and foremost the question would arise, why did the ukrainian aviation dispatcher send a passenger flight to an area of military clashes, an area used for carrying out strikes against civilians as well as others. >> well, the blame game is well under way. getting to the bottom of what happened to flight 17 will undoubtedly pose significant challenges. for one thing, the plane went down in the middle of a war zone. >> yeah. investigators say it's not just a crash site, it's a crime

scene. justice correspondent pamela brown has the details. >> reporter: cnn is learning that two fbi agents were sent to kiev at the request of ukrainian officials. as of now they'll be staying put there while they await more guidance from ukrainian officials as to how and when they can get to the conflict-ridden area where the plane went down. first team of investigators made it to the team, were already dodging bullets not long after arriving. the first team of international investigators to make it to the malaysia airline crash site were able to inspect about 200 meters of the scene, shooting this video just moments before guns started firing into the air right next to them. >> they basically looks like one of the biggest -- or the biggest crime scene in the world right now, guarded by a bunch of guys in uniform, with heavy firepower, who are quite inhospitable. >> reporter: the crash site right now is controlled by armed pro-russian rebels. the immediate challenge, trying to secure the massive scene.

>> in this case, you're talking about what's tantamount to a war zone. so, you would have to negotiate a safe passage and a safe work environment. >> reporter: the evidence is spread out over several miles, and the rebels, who are believed to be responsible for shooting down the plane with the ground-to-air missile have had free rein over the crime scene for 24 hours. two rebels are overheard discussing the crash. now i'm nearby the place where the first body started falling. here are remnants of internal brackets, said the first rebel. are there any weapons, asked the other? nothing at all. civilian belongings, medical scraps, towels, toilet paper, he responds. >> i'd be very concerned about how badly the scene's been contaminated already. what's already been moved or taken away from the scene. >> reporter: it won't be the first time investigators would be working in a conflict zone. in 1998 u.s. officials helped

investigate the terrorist attacks on american embassy in tanzania and kenya. there's also the 2000 bombing of the "uss cole" off the coast of yemen where u.s. officials were met by yemeni special forces threatening them with ak-47s. key question, examining the black boxes. we're told black boxes are in ukraine but wouldn't say if they're in the government's possession. despite the many hurdles, investigators we spoke with do believe they'll eventually get their hands on evidence to help prove exactly what happened to mh17 and its 298 passengers who were killed. pamela brown, cnn, washington. >> so many nations involved in the tragedy of mh17, the possible repercussions are huge. we look at the potential consequences. >> reporter: even as the investigation gets under way, the united states is laying out the case.

russia's support for rebels in eastern ukraine is at the root of this tragedy. >> while it may take us some time to firmly establish who shot down a plane filled with civilians, many members of the international community have been warning for months about the devastation that would come if russia did not stop what it started. if it did not rein in what it unleashed. >> reporter: with casualties from a dozen nations, the shootdown of mh17, has turned ukraine into international crime scene. >> the idea that russia can somehow say that none of this has anything to do with them, because it happened in ukrainian air space, frankly, does not stand up to any serious scrutiny. >> reporter: will international outrage be a tipping point, forcing putin to rethink his backing for the separatists? >> i think by really creating this monster in eastern ukraine,

unleashing this hybrid war and destabilizing the country, i think probably russia has taken on more than it realized it would. this has now gotten out of control. >> reporter: that, says president obama, leaves putin with a choice. >> he and the russian government have to make a strategic decision. are they going to continue to support violent separatists whose intent it to undermine the government of ukraine, or are they prepared to work with the government of ukraine to arrive at a cease-fire and a peace that takes into account the interests of all ukrainians? >> reporter: the malaysia airlines tragedy could be a wake-up call for reluctant europeans to get behind a u.s. plan to strengthen sanctions against russia. the question, though, will that force putin to back down or make him even more determined? >> it may ramp it down a bit, but i think the russian goal remains to make it very

difficult for this new ukrainian government to function as an effective government and have control over its own territory. >> thanks for that report. looking at some shock waves being felt around the world after this tragedy. more than half of the 298 people on board malaysia airlines flight 17 were from the netherlands. we are at schipol airport in amsterdam, joining us live. this is a nation in mourning with so many people aboard that flight. set the scene for us where you are. >> reporter: hi, i'm outside schipol airport. the netherlands is mourning. we were driving around the country yesterday. one of the things that struck us was not just the diversity of the passengers that were on board mh17, but also the number of people affected, the families, the friends, entire communities, now struggling to cope with tremendous loss.

this photograph was taken and posted it to his facebook account moments before he and his girlfriend boarded mh17 for their summer holiday. he joked, this is what the plane looks like in case it goes missing. a reference to malaysian flight 370. hours later, mh17 disappeared from radar and crashed in eastern ukraine. a photograph of them now sits outside her flower shop. >> we're going to miss her. >> yes. >> reporter: the irony not lost on many here that they are now laying flowers at the shop where they used to buy them. in nearby rotterdam, a similar

scene. we're told of the moment he learns three family members weren't combing home. when you came to that realization, what was going through your mind at that time? >> yeah. everything you -- that you lost someone, you never expect. so, no words for that. >> reporter: the restaurant was the life work of his cousin, jenny lo and her husband. he says their 30-year-old son is struggling to cope. >> they built up this restaurant 15, 20 years. it's very good restaurant. and you see the flowers and, of course, all the -- all the comments on the internet. and always working for the son, for the business. and this was verification. >> reporter: another family was also on vacation aboard flight mh17. upcoming deejay darryl gunawan was on his way to veet snam. his close friend and fellow

deejay says he could have been one of the greats. >> he was one of the biggest taenl talents in netherlands, deejay/producer. >> reporter: that wasn't enough. he wanted to give back. >> he said, i want to help people, so he was going to study for doctor to help people. if you think like that, it's already different level of being a human being on this plan ent. >> reporter: the florist, the restaura restauranteurs, the deejay. some of the dutch passengers who were killed. this country mourns them all. the family members, well, they want answers. they're demanding a full investigation. the dutch prime minister yesterday saying that they're being careful right now not to point fingers. he wants to establish the facts first, but if they find out that this was the result of an attack, well, he says this

country will not rest until they find the perpetrators. >> erin, staying with the issue of the investigation, have the dutch sent a team to ukraine? >> reporter: well, they have, isha. we understand the dutch foreign minister, timerman, arrived in kiev yesterday. he said he personally wants to ensure that investigators have unhindered access to the crash area. they also sent their national forensic team as of yesterday, furiously trying to make its way to the disaster zone. the priority there being to identify the victims and to repa repa repateriate them as soon as family. >> erin, lastly, with so many dutch nationals on board that flight, at least 189, as we've been saying, are you getting any -- is any kind of consensus in the country as to how the

netherlands should respond to this tragedy if, indeed, russia is found to have direct responsibility for what happened to mh17? >> reporter: i think for the moment, the dutch prime minister was very clear yesterday. their priority right now is establishing the facts, figuring out what exactly happened, finding their findings. >> erin mclaughlin joining us from schipol airport there in amsterdam. we appreciate it. there were 44 malaysians on flight mh17, including entire 15-person crew. in kuala lumpur people gathered in prayer over this tragic loss. malaysians are still reeling from the tragedy of the malaysian jet that disappeared, mh370 just over four months ago. well, still to come here on "cnn news room," the loss of life is being felt all around the world.

we speak to one man whose grandson was on the plane. plus, clashes in the west bank as israel says it's ready to expand its ground offensive in gaza. more details on that when we return. really... so our business can be on at&t's network for $175 dollars a month? yup. all five of you for $175. our clients need a lot of attention. there's unlimited talk and text. we're working deals all day. you get 10 gigabytes of data to share. what about expansion potential? add a line anytime for 15 bucks a month. low dues... great terms... let's close. introducing at&t mobile share value plans... ...with our best-ever pricing for business. i'm spending too much time hiring and not enough time in my kitchen. [ female announcer ] need to hire fast? go to ziprecruiter.com and post your job to over 30 of the web's leading job boards with a single click; then simply select the best candidates from one easy to review list. you put up one post and the next day you have all these candidates. makes my job a lot easier.

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♪ with the latest on our continuing coverage of the downing of malaysia airlines flight 17. >> a team of special investigators from malaysa has arrived in ukraine's capital, kiev, hoping to begin the process of finding out what happened to that jet. >> international monitors from europe say they will try again today to visit the site in eastern ukraine where the plane crashed on thursday. the osce members say they were met with hostility from pro-russia separatists and were not given full access to the site on friday.

well, there's a lot going on. let's take you back to our other major story here on "cnn newsroom." prime minister benjamin netanyahu says israeli forces are ready to expand their offensive and move deeper into gaza. he did not say what might trigger another escalation in the campaign against hamas militants. >> overnight chanting palestinians on the west bank clashed with police as emotions ran high during pro-hamas demonstrations. parts of gaza are being reduced to rebel. health officials in gaza say more than 300 people have been killed during this israeli offensive. >> we turn our attention to syria. they have overrun natural gas field in holmes in what appears to be a bloody battle. it says the militants killed at least 270 people when they stormed the facility, almost 100 others are missing. to the east, iraq, isis

militants have given an ultimatum to christians. leave the city of mosul, pay extra tax or death by sword. human rights activists say it's the latest example of percent kur persecution of minorities under its control. iran has given four-month extension. washington it says will free up more than $2.5 billion of frozen iranian funds. in return, tehran has agreed to convert some enriched uranium into fuel. we turn our attention to typhoon rammasun. it slammed into southern china on friday. >> these winds, torrential rain forced thousands of people to

evacuate. the storm has caused at least one death in china. >> killed at least 64 people as it raked over the philippines. the typhoon made landfall there on tuesday before regaining strength over south china see. >> let's get the latest on rammasun from the cnn weather center. the most powerful on record, you were saying. >> records from 1950s here in china, and at this point, yes, because of the lowest pressure recorded and highest winds. this has been an historic storm here for our good friends in china. the wind threat is done. we're just dealing with a heavy rain threat at this point, which doesn't sound like a lot, but in this area because of the hilly terrain, vietnam also, we are talking about the potential for significant flooding in the next couple of days. 185 kilometer-per-hour winds. when we had that advisory, it had just made its fourth and final landfall. the winds are not 185 now.

it's more likely tropical storm. we won't get the next advisory because there won't be any. here we go as far as -- look at this thing. one of the most impressive eyes you'll see on a typhoon, which is essentially what we call hurricanes in this part of the world. same kind of storm, just a different name. here's the rainfall tally as far as what we've had. so far, 100 to 300 millimeters. the areas here, these cities, it's still raining so we'll continue to add on. we've had in the last few weeks, if you've been watching us, we've had significant flooding across these parts of china. we've had swift water rescues as a result of this rain. this is just going to be a mess for them. keep you posted on that. at this point, typhoon weakening. this one is not, matamo, 100-kilometer-per-hour winds, already impacting with philippines. peripheral effects will be felt in terms of very heavy rainfall. where is it headed? the last storm, we had knee gne

in japan, this one looks to go down the middle. upwards to taiwan. computer forecasts also have this strengthening into a significant typhoon by the time we get into 72 and 96 hours. if you're watching us from taiwan, this is one you want to pay attention to closely. we'll keep you posted through the next several days. plenty of time to watch it. >> plenty of time to get ready, get prepared, do what you've got to do. >> and stay safe. ivanka brar r cabrera. we'll bring you the latest on the investigation of the downed malaysian airlines jet.

welcome back. the very latest on our continuing coverage of the downing of malaysia airlines flight 17. a team of special investigators from malaysia arrived in kiev to try to work out just what happened to the plane. >> it's still unclear when the delegation with 131 personnel will be able to visit the crash site in eastern ukraine. the delegation's team leader has said negotiations must still take place before investigators can get access to the crash site. well, of the 298 who died in

the crash, 15 of them were crew members. they were all malaysian citizens. >> earlier i spoke with the father of one of them. we were told his son, a flight attendant, was not originally scheduled to work on flight 17. mr. singh, my condolences for the loss of your son. must be incredibly difficult to deal with this, knowing he wasn't meant to be on that flight. that he swamped out with another colleague. do you know why he did that? >> yeah, he did that because he wanted to come home to be with his parents, so he could get extra leave. he swamped the flight with another colleague. >> this comes just a few months after his wife, also a flight attendant from malaysia airlines, she was meant to be on flight mh 370 but she swamped out. so, this is an astonishing twist of fate. >> she had better luck.

she swapped her flight with someone else. she was supposed to be on 370. the one she swapped was a very good colleague of hers. my daughter-in-law is -- she said, she didn't swap. >> you want to have a service for him, a funeral, but his body is still on a field somewhere in eastern ukraine. >> that's right. we will have the funeral and the prayers, and then as closure, one or two days, peace of mind our son is already resting in peace. >> we shall leave it there. again, condolences for the loss of your son. more of the passengan half

paengs were from netherlands. >> shansan was 17 years old, headed to indonesia to go on vacation with his family. his grandfather said he was a leavely boy and they will all miss him. >> as a grandparent, you hope none of your children or grandchildren go before you. and now it has happened. this is the first time it happens in our family. we always want the possibility to live our children out. this time it didn't work. unfortunately. >> the victims aboard flight mh17 were from at least nine countries. this is a global tragedy. >> we also have an update, too, because we've been reporting on the scientists, aids research headed to melbourne to this convention. we were originally told there were about 100. now it's only six. six aids researchers were headed to that conference. obviously, you know, it's still

a tragedy. not as big a number as originally reported. but, still, very sad these people have lost their lives. >> yeah, indeed. 298 lives lost, gone, but they will never be forgotten. that does it for this hour of "cnn newsroom." >> thank you for watching our coverage of mh17. it will continue from london after this short break. really... so our business can be on at&t's network for $175 dollars a month? yup. all five of you for $175. our clients need a lot of attention. there's unlimited talk and text. we're working deals all day. you get 10 gigabytes of data to share. what about expansion potential? add a line anytime for 15 bucks a month. low dues... great terms...

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hello, everyone. it's been nearly two days since malaysian flight 17 was shot down if ukraine. and the crash site is still not secure. the victims' bodies, we understand, have begun to decompose in the summer heat. international outrage is directed at russia and its president, vladimir