The wreckage of Malaysian Airways flight MH17, brought down by a missile over eastern Ukraine in July, left Charkov in Ukraine on Wednesday en route for the Netherlands, safety investigators confirmed to broadcaster Nos.

Parts of the Boeing 777 are being transported in a convoy of four lorries to the Gilze-Rijen airbase where it will be examined and possibly partially reconstructed.

The convoy is expected to reach the Netherlands some time next week, but the exact date depends on weather conditions on its route through Ukraine, Poland and Germany.