Brussels, July 19 (IANS): The European Union (EU) has activated the EU aviation crisis cell to ensure proper coordination of airspace to guarantee the safety of flights, a European official said in a technical briefing held here Friday.
Siim Kallas, vice-president of the European Commission in charge of transport, said he was deeply shocked by the Malaysia Airlines plane crash, Xinhua reported.
"The facts in terms of what has happened to MH17 must be laid open for global public scrutiny," he said. "What is needed now is an immediate and independent investigation into the causes of the crash."
He indicated the investigators need unimpeded access to the crash site, the black boxes, the flight data recorder and the cockpit voice recorder.
"And if it becomes clear that this crash has been caused deliberately, those responsible will be brought to justice," he said.
The Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur-bound MH17 flight crashed Thursday in Ukraine near the Russian border. There was no survivor.