Russia has asked Kiev for permission to help with rescue work at the crash site.
An emergency services rescue worker at the scene has told how at least 100 bodies have been found so far, near the village of Grabovo, and that debris from the wreckage is spread across an area up to about 15km in diameter.
Broken pieces of the wings were marked with blue and red paint - the same colours as the emblem of Malaysia Airlines.
One witness, who gave his name only as Vladimir, said: "I was working in the field on my tractor when I heard the sound of a plane and then a bang and shots. Then I saw the plane hit the ground and break in two. There was thick black smoke."
A separatist rebel from nearby Krasnyi Luch who gave his name only as Sergei said: "From my balcony I saw a plane begin to descend from a great height and then heard two explosions."
He denied the rebels had shot the plane down.
"This could happen only if it was a fighter jet or a surface-to-air missile (that shot it down)," he told Reuters, saying the rebels did not have weapons capable of shooting shoot down a plane at such a height.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/malaysia-airlines-plane-crash-live-3875008#ixzz37keFkxPa
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