A team of Dutch and Australian experts has finally reached the crash site of the Malaysia Airlines plane in eastern Ukraine.

It’s the first time in almost a week that experts have been able to reach the site due to fighting between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatist rebels.

The OSCE security and rights organisation said they had used a new route to access the sit and the team was able to pass through both Ukrainian and rebel checkpoints.

Alexander Hug, the Deputy head of the OSCE mission in Ukraine said:“We reached the site shortly before two o’clock, stayed there until shortly after three o’clock and then returned back the same way we came without any incident, left rebel-held territory into government-held territory and then shortly before Donetsk returned back into rebel-held territory”.

Flight MH17 was shot down two weeks ago close to the border with Russia killing 298 people.

Ukraine has intensified its attacks on rebel-held territory since the crash. Fighting has left more than 1,000 dead, including hundreds of civilians.