MH17 rescue teams locate 186 bodies over 8 square miles of crime scene as Ukraine accuses Russia of removing 38 corpses and crucial evidence in ultimate 'betrayal' of the dead

• Ukrainian emergency staff from are today piling up bodies at crash site
• But rebel forces in control of site have been accused of hindering others
• Investigators claim drunk soldiers stopped them accessing whole site
• Ukrainian government accused Russian-backed rebels of moving bodies
• Said 38 were taken to morgue in Donetsk, amid plans to move wreckage too
• Debris and body parts were scattered after Malaysia Airlines flight shot down
• Surface-to-air missile hit the plane on Thursday, killing all 298 on board
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Bodies of 186 victims who died when Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was shot out of the sky have been located by rescuers, amid fierce accusations that Russia and pro-Russian rebels are trying to sabotage the investigation.

Emergency workers employed by the Ukrainian government were allowed to access the eight-square-mile crash site today, and later began to pile up bodies in the fields.

But independent investigators dispatched to the scene complained that they were being kept out.

At the same time authorities accused the rebels in control of the site of spiriting away dead bodies, looting their possessions and plotting to remove chunks of the downed plane.

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Staff from Europe's OSCE security body visited the site but complained that they did not get the full access they wanted.

‘We encountered armed personnel who acted in a very impolite and unprofessional manner. Some of them even looked slightly intoxicated,’ a spokesman said.

Yesterday another OSCE expert told CNN that it seemed as if nobody was in control of the site. Michael Bociurkiw, said: '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.

'And there didn't seem to be anyone really in control, for example. One of our top priorities was to find out what happened to the black boxes. No one was there to answer those questions.' Ukraine's government today also issued a statement complaining rebels had not handed over the black boxes.

Describing the site today, the spokesman said: 'Some of the body bags are open and the damage to the corpses is very, very bad. It is very difficult to look at.'

 confirmed that the 24-member delegation was given further access to the crash site today but their movements were being limited by the rebels.

He said: 'We have to be very careful with our movements because of all the security. We are unarmed civilians, so we are not in a position to argue with people with heavy arms.'

Senior politicians in Malaysia today warned the rebels against touching anything in the site - describing any interference as a 'betrayal' of the victims.

Transport Minister Mr Liow Tiong Lai said: 'Interfering with the scene of the crash would undermine the investigation itself. Any action that prevents us from learning the truth about what happened to MH17 cannot be tolerated.

‘Such interference would be a betrayal of the lives that were lost,’ he said.

Footage broadcast today by Sky News shows a rebel commander telling massed journalists and officials: 'Whoever disobeys my orders will be dealt with accordingly.'

'I have told you many times - you are on the territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic. You are being taken out of here. This is the order of your guards.'

Today Ukraine's government accused pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine of trying to destroy evidence at the crash site of removing 38 bodies from the scene.

'The government of Ukraine officially states that the terrorists, with the help of Russia, are trying to destroy evidence of international crimes,' a statement said.

'According to government data, the terrorists have taken 38 bodies to the morgue in Donetsk,' it said, accusing specialists with 'strong Russian accents' of threatening to carry out their own autopsies.

'The government of Ukraine officially states that the terrorists, with the help of Russia, are trying to destroy evidence of international crimes,' a statement said.

'According to government data, the terrorists have taken 38 bodies to the morgue in Donetsk,' it said, accusing specialists with 'strong Russian accents' of threatening to carry out their own autopsies. It also said rebels were 'seeking large transports to carry away plane fragments to Russia'.

Rescue workers have been allowed on to the site, Ukraine said, and have found 186 of the 298 bodies - but have been stopped from taking anything away.

A government spokesman said: 'At 7 a.m. on July 19, 186 bodies have been found. The area that needs to be checked stands at 25 square km. Eighteen square km have already been checked.'

'The fighters have allowed Emergencies Ministry workers in there, but they do not allow them to take anything from the area. The fighters are taking away all that has been found.'

eflection: Three observers look away from an area of debris with the village of Rasssypnoye in the background

Investigation: Mr Hug directs the group of inspectors to an area of the crash site 

The rebels have also been accused of looting the corpses of the dead and rifling through their luggage, also by the Ukrainian government.

Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the Kiev government, said: 'I have received information that terrorist death-hunters were collecting not only cash and jewelery of the crashed Boeing dead passengers but also the credit cards of the victims.

'Currently, they might as well try to use them in Ukraine or pass them on to Russia.

'My humble request to the relatives of the victims to freeze their credit cards, so that they won't lose their assets to terrorists.'

There were also claims today that British victim John Alder, a 63-year-old Newcastle United fan on his way to see the team play in New Zealand, had his case looted.

A freelance journalist on the scene said that he saw rebels take a pair of binoculars from his suitcase, then throw them away when they discovered they were broken.

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How Pentagon used high-tech listening satellites to trace deadly path of missile that destroyed MH17 plane

A network of high-tech eavesdropping and early-warning satellites operated by the Pentagon most likely played a key role in determining that the Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down by a Russian-made surface-to-air missile over the Ukraine.

According to a report by the Los Angeles Times, intelligence officials almost certainly relied on a technical discipline known as measurement and signature intelligence, also known as MASINT, to obtain key bits of information about the missile launch.

The sophisticated system of satellites at the Pentagon’s disposal could have pinpointed the location from which the missile was fired and plotted out its trajectory as it shot up into the sky on a collision course with the MH17 Flight.

Riki Ellison, founder and chairman of Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance, an industry lobby, told the paper that intelligence analysts would have become aware the missile launch because of its heat signature.

U.S. Air Force-operated satellites orbiting the Earth are equipped with hyper-sensitive sensors that pick up on heat from missile and booster plumes. In fact, the detectors are so fine-tuned that they even spot forest fires.

The system of satellites, run as part of the Defense Support Program, sends back early warnings each time it detects an intercontinental ballistic missile launch.

Also, American radars scattered around Europe have the capacity to provide data on the exact launch site, the missile’s destination and its speed.

The other vital intelligence tool is a fleet of U.S. listening satellites that collect electronic signals from foreign defense systems.

Armed with this data, U.S. analysts would be able to determine the source of the signals and the weapon used.

The Russian-made Buk missiles, like the one that downed the jet Thursday with 298 people on board, are equipped with a radar system that gives off unique signals, making it possible to triangulate the launch site and trace its route.