KHARKIV (Ukraine): Several members of a special Malaysian team of investigators received the bodies of victims of MH17 on Tuesday.

The bodies were taken in refrigerated coaches of a train to Kharkiv about 500km from Kiev about noon (5pm Malaysian time).

Team head Khairil Hilmi Mokhtar confirmed the arrival of the bodies.

However, the official media personnel, were barred from entering the operations area where the bodies would be identified and transferred from the train.

A Kharkiv local government officer said the bodies were taken to a military base before being sent back.

The team was despatched to Kharkiv after an announcement by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak in Putrajaya on Monday that 282 bodies would be moved by train from Torez to Kharkiv.

Members of the Malaysian team wait near the tank factory after a train carrying the remains of MH17 victims arrived in Kharkiv, Ukraine. - Reuters

This follows after he successfully negotiated with Alexander Borodai, who is in command of the region in troubled Ukraine, where the tragedy had occurred.

The crash site near Torez is about 300km from Kharkiv.

Najib said the remains would then be flown to Amsterdam on board a Dutch C-130 Hercules together with the Malaysian team.

The Malaysian special investigation team had also received two flight data recorders of black boxes in Donetsk.

Following the success in retrieving the bodies and black boxes, the Malaysian investigation team had concluded transferring its operations to the Netherlands.

They will depart for Amsterdam later Tuesday.

Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it went down in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, near the Russian border on Thursday night.

The Boeing 777-200 aircraft was carrying 298 people - 283 passengers and 15 crew members. - Bernama