The bodies of 20 Malaysian victims of the plane crash in eastern Ukraine last month have been flown home.

They are the first to be taken back to Kuala Lumpur after flight MH17 came down last month. 43 of the 298 people who died were Malaysians.

The country is holding a national day of mourning.

Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 crashed over Ukraine while flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on July 17th, killing all 298 people on board.

It is thought to have been brought down by a surface-to-air missile

Last week it was announced that a preliminary report into the downing of MH17 is expected to be published "in a few weeks' time".

The Dutch Safety Board said only a few investigators had been able to visit the crash site. Attempts to access the wreckage had been heavily restricted due to fighting between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian rebels, with international investigators having only made a few brief visits to the site.

The DSB team have returned to The Hague to continue their investigation, explaining that it was "not necessary to stay in Ukraine any longer to analyse the information".