Ukraine Accuses Rebels of Tampering with Crash Site, Bodies

Militias accused of shooting down plane.

Ukrainian officials on Saturday accused the rebel militias that they blame for the downing of a Malaysia Airlines jet of moving bodies and tampering with evidence, steps that could make determining the exact circumstances of the disaster far more difficult.

Almost two days after Flight 17 was downed by a missile over rebel-held territory in the east of Ukraine, representatives from the Kiev government had still not been allowed access to the mammoth crash site, and rebels were preventing local emergency services personnel from gathering evidence, Ukrainian officials said.

"They're playing a game with the state. They behave as an independent country. The reason is to make all the procedures illegitimate," said Konstantin Batozsky, an adviser to Serhiy Taruta, governor of the Donetsk region.