Members of the Dutch royal family and the country's political leadership looked on as the first 40 coffins carrying the remains of passengers aboard the downed Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 arrived in the Netherlands on Wednesday, nearly one week after the plane was shot down over eastern Ukraine.
In a long line of hearses, the bodies were then transported to a Dutch military base where forensic investigators begin work to put names to the bodies, a process that could take months. Thousands of people came out to pay their respects, lining long parts of the route the hearses traveled.
Hearses wait behind a Ukrainian flag to load the first bodies of passengers and crew killed in the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 from Ukraine at Eindhoven military air base, in Eindhoven, Netherlands, Wednesday, July 23, 2014. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
A Royal Australian Air Force C-17 transport plane (C) and a Royal Dutch Airforce Hercules C-130 (R) carry coffins containing the remains of victims of downed Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 on July 23, 2014. (ROBIN VAN LONKHUIJSEN/AFP/Getty Images)
(From L) King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of The Netherlands, and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte attend a ceremony upon the arrivals of a plane from Ukraine, carrying the remains of victims of downed Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, at Eindhoven Airbase on July 23, 2014. (ROBIN VAN LONKHUIJSEN/AFP/Getty Images)
(From L) Minister Lodewijk Asscher, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of The Netherlands, and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte hold a minute's silence as they attend a ceremony upon the arrivals of a plane from Ukraine, carrying the remains of victims of downed Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, at Eindhoven Airbase on July 23, 2014. (ROBIN VAN LONKHUIJSEN/AFP/Getty Images)
A convoy of hearses carrying coffins containing the remains of victims of the downed Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, drives near Boxtel from the Eindhoven Airbase to Hilversum on July 23, 2014 after a ceremony. (REMKO DE WAAL/AFP/Getty Images)
Mourners watch from a bridge as a convoy of hearses carrying coffins containing the remains of victims of the downed Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 on July 23, 2014. (JERRY LAMPEN/AFP/Getty Images)
Military men carry a coffin containing the remains of a victim of downed Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, during a ceremony at Eindhoven Airbase on July 23, 2014. (JOHN THYS/AFP/Getty Images)
Dutch military men carry a coffin containing the body of a victim of downed Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, during a ceremony at Eindhoven Airbase on July 23, 2014. (JOHN THYS/AFP/Getty Images)
Dutch military men carry a coffin containing the remains of a victim of downed Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, during a ceremony at Eindhoven Airbase on July 23, 2014. (ROBIN VAN LONKHUIJSEN/AFP/Getty Images)
Dutch flags fly half-staff in honor of 3 citizens of Delft -- ,a mother, 17-year-old daughter and 13-year-old son were among the victims of flight MH17. (AP Photo/Phil Nijhuis)
Stewards and stewardesses hold a minute silence at Schiphol Airport on July 23, 2014, to commemorate the victims of the air crash of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17. (OLAF KRAAK/AFP/Getty Images)