In Photos: MH17 Plane Wreckage Displayed for Relatives of Victims

For the first time yesterday, relatives of the 298 people killed when a Malaysia Airlines flight was downed over Ukraine last July were allowed to view the wreckage. The mangled pieces of Flight MH17, which had been traveling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it was shot down on July 17, were moved in December to Gilze-Rijen military base in the Netherlands as part of an ongoing probe into what and who shot down the plane.

The first relatives of the victims visited the wreckage yesterday, investigators said. A total of about 500 were expected to visit this week.

Not all pieces of the plane were on display. Those that indicated to investigators that a "large number of high-energy objects" had "pierced the plane at high speed" were kept elsewhere.

Dutch military police guarded the wreckage.

Members of the media viewed the wreckage only when no family members of victims were present. Several photos were also posted on social media:

MH17: Friends and family of victims given sombre tour of doomed plane's wreckage— Daily Star (@Daily_Star)March 3, 2015

First shots of — anna holligan (@annaholligan)March 3, 2015

Dutch authorities put the MH17 wreckage on display today. — MARK CARLSON (@MARKCARLSONTV)March 3, 2015