40 hearses travel through the Netherlands
A row of hearses carrying victims killed in Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 plane disaster arrives at the Korporaal van Oudheusden barracks in Hilversum July 23, 2014. REUTERS/Michael Kooren

Thousands of Dutch citizens lined the streets of Holland Wednesday to watch as 40 hearses carrying the remains of the first victims killed in the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 crash from Eindhoven airport to a forensic facility in the heart of the city. Friends and family members of the 193 Dutch citizens killed stood alongside well-wishers tossing roses into the street as tears filled the country.

The passengers' remains arrived at Eindhoven earlier in the day Wednesday, offloaded from two military jets by honor guards as a single bugle provided the only sound at the scene. Weeping family members hugged and held hands as they watched the process, made only more painful by the fact that they had no way of knowing which, if any, of the coffins on display contained their deceased relatives.

The arrival was following by a minute of silence throughout the Netherlands, with the country declaring Wednesday a national day of mourning.

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