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"SYDNEY \u2014 Following allegations that pro-Russian rebels may have \"severely compromised\" the crash site of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in eastern Ukraine, journalists have been caught touching victims' belongings.\nAustralian ABC journalist Phil Williams has been criticised for touching the scarf of one of the plane's 298 victims. A video report posted on the news service's website shows his actions.\nSee also: Pro-Russian Rebel Leader Gives Malaysians MH17's Black Boxes\nIn it, Williams is shown surveying the scene and saying, \"As we walk through, you will see little bits and pieces of people's everyday lives. Someone's shawl there. Over here, one of the backs of one of the plane's chairs.\" He then leans down, and picks up the purple piece of fabric.\n\nABC reporter Phil Williams touching a scarf.Williams defended his actions by saying the crime scene had already been contaminated by the rebels looting and trashing the crash site.\n\u201CI am guilty of picking up, touching a scarf on the ground, and that\u2019s because there are piles of people\u2019s belongings that have just been collected and dumped on the roadside; they\u2019ve been picked through, and so it\u2019s not as though it\u2019s a crime scene, an uncontaminated crime scene there,\" Williams told the ABC's PM program on Monday night.\n\nABC reporter Phil Williams says 'it's not as though it's a crime scene' &gt; So killing almost 300 people is not a crime then? #WhatBollocks\n\u2014 Carla (@Welshbybirth) July 21, 2014\n\n\u00A0\nWilliams has been the lead ABC journalist at the site where Flight 17 was shot down with a surface-to-air missile last Thursday. The crash site has not been officially cordoned off, with bodies lying in the heat for days, before finally being moved on Monday to refrigerated train cars. The belongings of the dead are strewn for kilometres across fields close to the Russian border.\n\"It\u2019s a very difficult scene to report on. Literally the evidence is everywhere you walk,\" Williams said about his controversial actions.\n\nPhil Williams has been criticised for his report on MH17.An ABC spokesperson told the Sydney Morning Herald, \"The ABC has reminded journalists of responsibilities when reporting from an air crash scene such as MH17. A report has been re-edited to avoid any distress to our audience.\"\nEarlier, Williams had been praised for his in-depth reporting from the crash site.\n\nPhil Williams' reporting simply excellent in a horrendous situation at the #MH17 crash site. #abc730\n\u2014 Amy Feldtmann (@AmyFeldtmann) July 21, 2014\n\n\u00A0\nThis is not the first incident in which a journalist caused outrage over the handling of victims' belongings. On Monday, Sky News apologised after reporter Colin Brazier rummaged through a victim's suitcase live on air.\n\u201C\u2026keys, a toothbrush, and\u2026we shouldn\u2019t really be doing this,\u201D Brazier says in the clip.\n\nUsers complained about Brazier's report and called for Brazier to be taken off air.\n\nSky's Colin Brazier has a total lack of respect and disregard for the tragic victims of #MH17. #BoycottSkyNews\n\u2014 Yi Jone Li (@YiJoneLi) July 21, 2014\n\n\u00A0\n\nColin Brazier's actions were absolutely disgusting and disrespectful, why is he still on my TV @SkyNews\n\u2014 Chlo\u00EB Williams (@ChloeWilliams) July 21, 2014\n\n\u00A0\n\nSo @SkyNews should be ashamed for broadcasting Colin Brazier going through MH17 crash victims luggage. Disgusting.\n\u2014 LeeGaze (@streeettrash) July 21, 2014\n\n\u00A0\nSky News responded to the outrage. \"Today whilst presenting from the site of the MH17 air crash Colin Brazier reflected on the human tragedy of the event and showed audiences the content of one of the victims' bags,\" a spokesperson told Netherlands news agency BNO News. \"Colin immediately recognised that this was inappropriate, and said so on air. Both Colin and Sky News apologise profusely for any offense caused.\"\nHave something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.\n      window._msla=window.loadScriptAsync||function(src,id){if(document.getElementById(id))return;var js=document.createElement('script');js.id=id;js.src=src;document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0].parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);};\n_msla(\"//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js\",\"twitter_jssdk\");"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2014/07/22/journalist-mh17-victims-belongings/>