Story highlights Bodies, wreckage are scattered over eastern Ukraine countryside

Some are starting to decompose in the heat

Heavily armed pro-Russia militants control the crash site

Debris from Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 lay splayed for miles across silent rural fields in eastern Ukraine on Saturday. Two days after the jet crashed, some bodies remained strapped in seat belts -- wearing inflight headphones.

Conspicuously missing at the crash site near Torez were international forensic workers needed to secure and sort the wreckage, and a recovery crew to identify and remove with dignity the bodies of the 298 people who were on board MH17

A few things have been moved. Luggage was stacked in piles; mementos, children's toys were handled. Most everything is unguarded, there for the curious -- or for the taking.

But the debris field hasn't changed much overall since it slammed into place from about 30,000 feet in the air. Not like it would change, if investigators had a chance to cordon it off and catalog it.

Plane parts, books, bodies

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A round piece of wreckage the size of a small garage -- part of the cabin perhaps -- stood tilted over personal effects of people heading for vacation. Fields were bestrewn with novels, beach sandals, guide books and colorful carry-on bags.

And all around them were the bodies of their owners, some dressed in shorts and other vacation wear.

With leaders around the world calling for a swift, thorough and professional investigation, in eastern Ukraine, a small group of local government workers camping near the wreckage emerge from their tents in the mornings.

They split up the crash site territory in an orderly manner to look for bodies, said journalist Noah Sneider, who visited the site. The emergency workers mark spots where they find human remains with stakes and tie white rags around them.

There are so many of them. Bodies lie by the roadside, some in fields, some intertwined with parts of the aircraft. And they are spread out so far.

"Half of them are so mangled, you couldn't identify them," Sneider said.

Collecting bodies not their job

A witness who saw the people falling to Earth on Tuesday said they had appeared from out of the cloud cover -- like horrifying rainfall, after the plane tore apart in the sky.

Emergency workers tell CNN it's not their job to collect the bodies. And a local pro-Russian rebel leader has said that officials from the Netherlands and Malaysia asked that the bodies not be moved.

But rescue crews and inspectors from those countries are not on site.

And to get there, they would have to drive about 90 minutes from the city of Donetsk down pot-hole pocked roads. But these lead through a war zone, past checkpoints set up by varying local militias.

There is no central command, virtually no rule of law.

Three separate pro-Russian rebel groups guard the perimeter of the crash site alone, Sneider said.

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Photos: Photos: Malaysia Flight 17 victims remembered Photos: Photos: Malaysia Flight 17 victims remembered Malaysia Flight 17 victims remembered – The passengers and crew aboard Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 came from around the world and held a wide range of hopes and dreams. While the identities of the 298 people aboard have not been release by the airline, CNN has been able to confirm some of them via family, friends and social media. Hide Caption 1 of 23 Photos: Photos: Malaysia Flight 17 victims remembered Malaysia Flight 17 victims remembered – Karlijn Keijzer, 25, was a champion rower from Amsterdam who showed much passion and leadership in the United States as a member of the team at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. Hide Caption 2 of 23 Photos: Photos: Malaysia Flight 17 victims remembered Malaysia Flight 17 victims remembered – Miguel Calehr, left, and his older brother Shaka were both aboard the flight. They were on their way to Bali to visit their grandmother. Their middle brother, Mika, was supposed to be on the flight as well, but it was fully booked. Hide Caption 3 of 23 Photos: Photos: Malaysia Flight 17 victims remembered Malaysia Flight 17 victims remembered – A 77-year-old teacher and Roman Catholic nun, Sister Philomene Tiernan, was on the flight, according to Australia's Kincoppal-Rose Bay School of the Sacred Heart. The school principal described Tiernan as "wonderfully wise and compassionate." Hide Caption 4 of 23 Photos: Photos: Malaysia Flight 17 victims remembered Malaysia Flight 17 victims remembered – On Friday, President Barack Obama told reporters that an American, Quinn Lucas Schansman, was aboard. His Facebook page said he was a student at International Business School Hogeschool van Amsterdam. Hide Caption 5 of 23 Photos: Photos: Malaysia Flight 17 victims remembered Malaysia Flight 17 victims remembered – The World Health Organization was able to confirm to CNN that their employee Glenneth Thomas was on board and heading to the International AIDS Conference scheduled to begin this weekend in Melbourne, Australia. Hide Caption 6 of 23 Photos: Photos: Malaysia Flight 17 victims remembered Malaysia Flight 17 victims remembered – Shazana Salleh, a Malaysian national, was one of 15 crew members aboard. Hide Caption 7 of 23 Photos: Photos: Malaysia Flight 17 victims remembered Malaysia Flight 17 victims remembered – Prominent Dutch scientist Joep Lange was a pioneer in HIV research and a former president of the International AIDS Society, which organizes the International AIDS Conference. Hide Caption 8 of 23 Photos: Photos: Malaysia Flight 17 victims remembered Malaysia Flight 17 victims remembered – Jacqueline van Tongeren, partner of HIV researcher Joep Lange, was on the flight with him. Hide Caption 9 of 23 Photos: Photos: Malaysia Flight 17 victims remembered Malaysia Flight 17 victims remembered – Medical student Andrei Anghel, 24, boarded Flight 17 on his way to vacation in Bali. Hide Caption 10 of 23 Photos: Photos: Malaysia Flight 17 victims remembered Malaysia Flight 17 victims remembered – Darryl Dwight Gunawan, 20, was traveling home to the Philippines after a summer vacation with his family. His mother, Irene Gunawan, 54, and sister Sheryl Shania Gunawan, 15, were also aboard. Hide Caption 11 of 23 Photos: Photos: Malaysia Flight 17 victims remembered Malaysia Flight 17 victims remembered – John Paulissen, his wife Yuli Hastini and their two children, Martin Arjuna and Sri were all aboard the flight. Hide Caption 12 of 23 Photos: Photos: Malaysia Flight 17 victims remembered Malaysia Flight 17 passengers remembered – Tessa van der Sande, an Amnesty International employee, was on the flight. Hide Caption 13 of 23 Photos: Photos: Malaysia Flight 17 victims remembered Malaysia Flight 17 passengers remembered – Angeline Premila Rajandaran was a flight attendant, one of the 15 crew on board. Hide Caption 14 of 23 Photos: Photos: Malaysia Flight 17 victims remembered Malaysia Flight 17 passengers remembered – A lover of French literature, Adi Soetjipto, 73, was returning home to Jakarta, Indonesia, after her annual visit to her mother in the Netherlands, nephew Joss Wibisono said. Hide Caption 15 of 23 Photos: Photos: Malaysia Flight 17 victims remembered Malaysia Flight 17 victims remembered – Nick Norris and his three grandchildren, Otis, 8, Evie,10 and Mo, 12, were all aboard the flight. Hide Caption 16 of 23 Photos: Photos: Malaysia Flight 17 victims remembered Malaysia Flight 17 victims remembered – Pim de Kuijer was also on his way to the International AIDS Conference. Hide Caption 17 of 23 Photos: Photos: Malaysia Flight 17 victims remembered Malaysia Flight 17 victims remembered – Husband and wife Albert and Maree Rizk were among the passengers on board. Hide Caption 18 of 23 Photos: Photos: Malaysia Flight 17 victims remembered Malaysia Flight 17 victims remembered – Musician Cor Schilfder was on vacation with girlfriend NeeltjeTol, a florist. Hide Caption 19 of 23 Photos: Photos: Malaysia Flight 17 victims remembered Malaysia Flight 17 victims remembered – Shun Poh Fan and wife Jenny Loh were restaurant owners in the Netherlands. Hide Caption 20 of 23 Photos: Photos: Malaysia Flight 17 victims remembered Malaysia Flight 17 victims remembered – Fatima Dycynski was an engineer and the founder and CEO of Xoterra Space. Hide Caption 21 of 23 Photos: Photos: Malaysia Flight 17 victims remembered Malaysia Flight 17 victims remembered – Arjen and Yvonne Ryder Hide Caption 22 of 23 Photos: Photos: Malaysia Flight 17 victims remembered Malaysia Flight 17 victims remembered – Flight attendant Sanjid Singh Sandu swapped flights at the last moment on Thursday and boarded MH17 in Amsterdam so he could get home early, his parents told CNN. Hide Caption 23 of 23

A small international delegation

Photos: MH17: What they left behind Photos: MH17: What they left behind MH17: What they left behind – A birthday card found in a sunflower field near the crash site of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in eastern Ukraine, on Thursday, July 24. The passenger plane was shot down July 17 above Ukraine. All 298 people aboard were killed, and much of what they left behind was scattered in a vast field of debris. Hide Caption 1 of 16 Photos: MH17: What they left behind MH17: What they left behind – A classical music record is seen among the sunflowers on July 24. Hide Caption 2 of 16 Photos: MH17: What they left behind MH17: What they left behind – A shoe, appearing to be brand new, sits under foliage at the crash site. Hide Caption 3 of 16 Photos: MH17: What they left behind MH17: What they left behind – Two Dutch passports belonging to passengers lie in a field at the site of the crash on Tuesday, July 22. Hide Caption 4 of 16 Photos: MH17: What they left behind MH17: What they left behind – Clothing, sunglasses and chocolate are seen on July 22. Hide Caption 5 of 16 Photos: MH17: What they left behind MH17: What they left behind – More sunglasses and a travel guide lie in the field on July 22. Hide Caption 6 of 16 Photos: MH17: What they left behind MH17: What they left behind – A doll is seen on the ground on Saturday, July 19. Hide Caption 7 of 16 Photos: MH17: What they left behind MH17: What they left behind – A single shoe is seen among the debris and wreckage on July 19. There has been concern that the site has not been sealed off properly and that vital evidence is being tampered with. Hide Caption 8 of 16 Photos: MH17: What they left behind MH17: What they left behind – Pieces of a wristwatch lie on a plastic cover at the crash site. Hide Caption 9 of 16 Photos: MH17: What they left behind MH17: What they left behind – A toy monkey. Hide Caption 10 of 16 Photos: MH17: What they left behind MH17: What they left behind – Books, bags, a tourist T-shirt. Ukraine's government said it had received reports of looting, and it urged relatives to cancel the victims' credit cards. But a CNN crew at the scene July 19 said it did not see any signs of looting. Hide Caption 11 of 16 Photos: MH17: What they left behind MH17: What they left behind – Passports were scattered across the large field. Hide Caption 12 of 16 Photos: MH17: What they left behind MH17: What they left behind – Playing cards and euros are seen at the crash site. Hide Caption 13 of 16 Photos: MH17: What they left behind MH17: What they left behind – A travel guide and toiletries. Hide Caption 14 of 16 Photos: MH17: What they left behind MH17: What they left behind – Luggage on Friday, July 18. Hide Caption 15 of 16 Photos: MH17: What they left behind MH17: What they left behind – An empty suitcase is cordoned off near the plane's impact site on Thursday, July 17. Hide Caption 16 of 16

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A delegation of 21 monitors from the Organization of Cooperation and Safety in Europe made it in after assurances from rebel leaders, but local militiamen at the site allowed them only a brief view of a small outtake of the crash site.

"It basically looks like the biggest crime scene in the world right now, guarded by a bunch of guys in uniform with heavy firepower who are quite inhospitable," said OSCE spokesman Michael Bociurkiw.

They asked militiamen for their commander, their leader, he said. "No one showed up."

An armed man who appeared to have been drinking was there, Bociurkiw said, but he wasn't helpful. "He kind of rushed all of them away, including the journalists."

Militiamen would have to trust international and Ukrainian crews enough to let them in, and trust is scarce in the conflict zone, Sneider said. Many militiamen hold conspiracy theories about the crash.

"They claim that it's a provocation conjured up by the Ukrainian authorities in Kiev."

They don't trust anything coming out of Kiev, he said.

The OSCE crew is at the site to get an overview and report back what they see. They usually act as observers in conflict zones and are not equipped or trained to recover bodies and evidence.

But for now, they, the local workers and a few journalists are the only ones there to care.