THE HAGUE – Malaysian officials have handed over the black boxes from flight MH17 to Dutch lead investigators of the crash in rebel-held Ukraine, the Netherlands government said.

Pro Russian soldier at the site of the plane wreckage

“The black boxes from flight MH17 have been handed over by Malaysian experts to the Dutch Safety Board (OVV) that is leading the international investigation,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.

The black box data recorders from the flight, allegedly brought down by a missile fired by pro-Russian separatists on Thursday, were handed over in Kiev and will be sent to Farnborough in Britain for the data to be downloaded.

“Experts from several countries, including the OVV, will travel with the black boxes to Farnborough to help with the investigation,” the ministry said.