The Netherlands has received the bodies of the first victims from crashed Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in a solemn ceremony at Eindhoven air base.

Forty hearses left for the town of Hilversum where the formal identification process will begin.

The Netherlands is observing a national day of mourning for the 298 victims, most of whom were Dutch.

Ukrainian pro-Russian rebels have been widely accused of shooting down the plane on July 17.

UK government sources say intelligence shows rebels deliberately tampered with evidence, moving bodies and placing parts from other planes in the debris.

And as fighting continued in eastern Ukraine today, officials in Kiev say two aircraft, thought to be military jets, had been shot down just 20 miles from the crash site.