Updated

The head of an international recovery mission says investigators have used sniffer dogs at the Malaysia Airlines wreckage site in eastern Ukraine and recovered more human remains and personal belongings.

Speaking from Kiev, Pieter-Jaap Aalbersberg said a team of 70 Dutch and Australian investigators were able to reach the site on Saturday for the second consecutive day, despite clashes between pro-Russia separatist rebels and Ukrainian forces nearby.

Flight 17 was shot down July 17 with what the West says was a Russian-made missile fired by the rebels, killing all 298 passengers and crew.

Aalbersberg did not give details of the remains recovered. His team is searching for decomposing remains of approximately 80 victims in a process expected to take weeks.