Doomed passengers did not suffer: forensic expert
Debris from Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 is shown smouldering in a field in Grabovo, Ukraine near the Russian border. Flight 17, on its way from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur and carrying 295 passengers and crew. (Getty) Getty
Passengers aboard Flight MH17 would not have suffered during their final moments in the air, an Australian forensic expert claims.
University of Canberra adjunct professor David Royds told News Corp the doomed passengers either would have died from the initial blast of shrapnel from the exploding missile — or from a rapid decompression and freezing temperatures.
Either way, death would have come quickly.
"Flying at more than 10km above the ground, the mid-air explosion would have caused the cabin temperature to drop to minus 50C with a sudden drop of air pressure and loss of oxygen," the forensic disaster crime scene expert was quoted as saying.
"That extremely cold environment would have rendered the passengers unconscious within seconds."
Thirty-seven Australians were among the 298 who died in the Malaysian Airlines disaster.
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