Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said Friday at a press conference that the MH17's flight route was declared safe by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), adding that the International Air Transportation Association had stated that the airspace the aircraft was traversing was not subject to restrictions.

He also said the Malaysia Airlines had confirmed that the plane did not make a distress call.

The prime minister said the company was in the process of the next-of-kin of the passengers and crew onboard the aircraft, and all possible care would be provided to them.

Najib said his government was dispatching a special flight to Kiev, carrying a Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team, as well as a medical team.

"According to information provided by Kiev Air Traffic Control, the location of the plane's emergency locator beacon is 48 degrees 7 minutes and 23 seconds North; and 38 degrees 31 minutes and 33 seconds East," he added.

He said that while the Ukrainian authorities believed that the plane was shot down, Malaysia was unable to verify the cause of the tragedy at the current early stage.

"But we must and we will find out precisely what happened to this flight," he said, adding that "if it transpires that the plane was indeed shot down, we insist that the perpetrators must swiftly be brought to justice."

Najib said they had established emergency operations centers, and Malaysian officials had been in constant contact with their counterparts in Ukraine and elsewhere.

"And I will be speaking to a number of world leaders over the coming hours," he said, adding that "I have had several conversations with the prime minister of the Netherlands."

He said he had spoken to the president of Ukraine, adding that "the Ukrainian president also confirmed that his government will negotiate with rebels in the east of the country, in order to establish a humanitarian corridor to the crash site."

Najib said he also received a call from U.S. President Barack Obama, and they agreed that "the investigation must not be hindered in anyway."

"An international team must have full access to the crash site, " he said, adding that "no one should interfere with the area, or move any debris, including the black box."

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