The MH17 Investigation Isn't Off to a Good Start

Things aren't starting off too well in the MH-17 investigation, where OSCE researchers were apparently barred by armed separatists from investigating parts of the site on Friday — and where no one seems to know the location of the plane's black boxes. Governments have repeatedly urged whoever is control of the site (and no one really seems to know) to leave it alone. But as anyone who's browsed horrific photos and descriptions of the crash scene can tell you, that's not what's happening on the ground; a curious public and lots of separatists have been combing through the wreckage.

A spokesman from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, Michael Bociurkiw, told CNN on Friday that conditions at the site weren't good.

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.

The Associated Press reports that while the OSCE team was allowed to get to the site itself, they weren't allowed to investigate it much. One armed separatist reportedly fired a warning shot into the air when investigators were on-site, though OSCE later said the shot was to warn off civilians. Bodies on the site, which should be kept cooled so autopsies and causes of death can be properly determined, have reportedly started to decompose.

Bociurkiw, a Canadian, told CNN that when the group asked to talk to whoever is in charge and try and figure out where the black boxes were, a drunk guy showed up.

There was one gentleman there in a uniform, heavily armed and apparently somewhat intoxicated, who wasn't very hospitable or helpful at all. In fact in the end he kind of rushed all of them away, including the journalists.