Photos: Bodies of MH17 victims repatriated and put to rest in military-style ceremonies

Nearly seven weeks after Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 was shot down, the pilots of the doomed plane have been laid to rest in special military-style ceremonies.

Draped in a Malaysian flag, the body of Captain Wan Amran was today carried by soldiers into Shah Alam, 15 miles west of Kuala Lumpur, where his family and dozens of mourners gathered to bid him farewell.

Meanwhile, the ashes of Captain Eugene Choo were brought back to his residence in Seremban, around 46 miles from the capital, accompanied by his tearful wife and two sons.

Earlier yesterday, the pilots' remains had been repatriated to the country from the Netherlands along with five other Malaysians and two Dutch victims of the tragedy, who were of Malaysia decent.

The other bodies will now be flown by helicopter from Kuala Lumpur International airport in Sepang to their respective burial or cremation grounds to be laid to rest.

During Captain Amran's burial, the pilot's body was carried in a coffin by members of the Royal Malay Regiment army, before it was passed onto his colleagues, other Malaysian Airlines pilots, and later buried.

His wife Mariam Yusuf was spotted weeping as she poured rose water onto his grave under the mournful eyes of relatives, friends and well-wishers.

Meanwhile, the pilot's young son Wan Yunus was seen bowing his head and closing his eyes in prayer as his father was laid to rest.

In Serembam, the remains of Captain Choo, sealed in a casket and covered with a national flag, were carried into his residence by Malaysian soldiers and, later, his 13-year-old son, Melvic Choo.

The pilot's wife Ivy Loi, 42, who had earlier clutched a photo of her late husband as his ashes had arrived in Malaysia, and his mother-in-law Chew Lai Choo both wept throughout the ceremony.

Captain Choo's remains were placed on a raised surface, where they were surrounded by bright flowers, candles, photographs and an array of food.

Flight MH17 crashed when it was shot down over an area of Ukraine controlled by pro-Russia separatists on a flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, killing all 298 people onboard.

The victims included 43 Malaysians and 195 Dutch nationals. An international investigation is ongoing, but no one has been arrested.

The tragedy has compounded Malaysian grief over the troubling and still-unexplained disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 just four months earlier.
May their souls R.I.P- Amen.