The families who lost loved ones in the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 on Saturday began voting on where to build a national memorial in the Netherlands to honor the dead.
Three proposals were unveiled on Saturday for monuments to remember the 298 people, mostly Dutch nationals, killed in last year’s air disaster.
Dutch-led investigators concluded last month that the Malaysia Airlines flight was shot down on by a Russian-made BUK missile fired from rebel-held territory in eastern Ukraine on July 17 last year.
All those on board were killed when the Boeing 777 was blown up en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.
“The MH17 Aviation Disaster Foundation considers that it is important that the choice of location of the monument is supported by the relatives,” the families support group said in a statement.
Three proposals designed by relatives have been put forward — one at The Hague; one close to Amsterdam Airport Schipol, where the victims boarded the doomed flight; and one in Eindhoven, where the bodies were brought back to the Netherlands.
In The Hague, the monument would consist of 10 “crumbled” elements. One central piece would be placed behind the renowned Peace Palace, and “in the area of the nine ‘grieving’ embassies one single element. This allows the countries to be connected to each other.”
In Eindhoven there would be a memorial “at the place where the victims have been carried out of the planes.”
The third proposal is to plant a tree for each of the dead at a park close to Amsterdam Airport Schipol, “where the victims boarded the plane and became a group,” the foundation said in its statement.
The relatives have until Sunday to vote for the memorial of their choice.
It is hoped that a decision can be revealed next month, and work can then start immediately.
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