Some 30 monitors arrived by helicopter at the scene near the village of Grabovo where the plane, carrying 298 people, crashed on Thursday.
The two sides in Ukraine's civil conflict have accused each other of shooting the jet down with a missile.
The UN Security Council has now begun an emergency meeting in New York.
The Boeing 777 was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. It fell between Krasni Luch in Luhansk region and Shakhtarsk in the neighbouring region of Donetsk.
Latest figures released by Malaysia Airlines show the plane was carrying at least 189 Dutch nationals, 27 Australians, 44 Malaysians (including 15 crew), 12 Indonesians and nine Britons.
The plane came down near the village of Grabovo in Ukraine on Thursday
Debris from the plane covers a very large areaWatch Video Here>>>>
The dead include world-renowned Dutch researcher Joep Lange who was among a number of passengers en route to an international Aids conference in Australia.
It is the second disaster suffered by Malaysia Airlines this year. Flight MH370 disappeared en route from Malaysia to China in March and has still not been found.
Ahead of the Security Council meeting, the UN called for a "full, thorough and independent investigation".
US envoy to the UN Samantha Power said the plane was "likely downed by a surface-to-air missile operated from a separatist-held location".
She said the UN had a "duty to everyone to determine why that jet fell out of the sky and stop at nothing to bring those responsible to justice".
Confirmed death toll so far
World-renowned Aids researcher Joep Lange from the Netherlands is among those killed
List of Death Roll
'Catastrophe'
The Organization for the Security and Co-operation in Europe's (OSCE) Roland Bless confirmed to Reuters that its investigators had arrived.
The OSCE said the separatists had pledged to provide "safe access"and co-operate with Ukrainian authorities.
Barry and Izzy Sim: "We were supposed to be on flight"
However, separatist leader Alexander Borodai rejected international calls for a truce, as fighting continues between the rebels and Ukrainian forces.
He also denied reports that black box flight recorders of MH17 had been recovered and handed to Moscow.
The rebels have accused the Ukrainian government of downing the airliner.
Vigils have been held outside the Dutch embassy in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev
A candlelit vigil too outside Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia
But Ukraine's defence ministry said there were no Air Force jets in the area and no surface-to-air systems being used against the rebels.
US and Ukrainian officials said they believed the plane had been brought down by a missile - a Buk thought to have been used by the rebels in Ukraine before.
Ukraine has called the disaster an "act of terrorism", blaming it on Russia who it says has been aiding the rebels in the conflict and supplying them with advanced weapons.
"The Russians are done for. This is an international crime which must be investigated by the international tribunal in The Hague," Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said.
Ukrainian authorities have released what they say are intercepted phone conversations that proved the plane was shot down by pro-Russian separatists.
Buk surface-to-air missile system
Also known as SA-11 Gadfly (or newer SA-17 Grizzly)
Russian-made, mobile, medium range system
Weapons: Four surface-to-air missiles
Missile speed (max): Mach 3
Target altitude (max): 22,000 metres (72,000ft)
Source: Global Security
But Russian President Vladimir Putin has blamed the Ukraine government for restarting military operations in the area, where it is trying to regain control from pro-Russian rebels.
"The country in whose airspace this happened bears responsibility for it," he said.
Russia has called for a "thorough and unbiased" investigation, adding that the tragedy also highlighted a need for a swift end to the Ukrainian conflict.
Senior vice-president of Malaysia Airlines Huib Gorter said the plane was sound
Earlier on Friday, Malaysia Airlines' senior vice-president Europe, Huib Gorter, said the plane involved had been in service since 1997, had a clean maintenance record and that all communications were functioning normally at the time.
He said the flight route had been declared safe by the authorities, was being used by many other airlines and was not subject to any restrictions.
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Netherlands: 189
Malaysia: 44 (including 15 crew)
Australian: 27
Indonesia: 12
UK: 9
Germany: 4
Belgium: 4
Philippines: 3
Canada: 1
New Zealand: 1
Unverified: 4
MH17 crash brings Ukraine conflict 'to West's door'
Ms Power also criticised Russia, saying: "President Putin has committed on several occasions to working towards dialogue and peace, and every single time he has broken that commitment.
"Russia can end this war. Russia must end this war."
The UK demanded that the UN go beyond its call for an inquiry and issue "a clear unequivocal condemnation of the actions of these armed groups" and insist that the rebels lay down their arms.
US President Barack Obama is scheduled to make a statement from the White House at 15:30 GMT.
Malaysia: 44 (including 15 crew)
Australian: 27
Indonesia: 12
UK: 9
Germany: 4
Belgium: 4
Philippines: 3
Canada: 1
New Zealand: 1
Unverified: 4
MH17 crash brings Ukraine conflict 'to West's door'
Ms Power also criticised Russia, saying: "President Putin has committed on several occasions to working towards dialogue and peace, and every single time he has broken that commitment.
"Russia can end this war. Russia must end this war."
The UK demanded that the UN go beyond its call for an inquiry and issue "a clear unequivocal condemnation of the actions of these armed groups" and insist that the rebels lay down their arms.
US President Barack Obama is scheduled to make a statement from the White House at 15:30 GMT.
'Catastrophe'
The Organization for the Security and Co-operation in Europe's (OSCE) Roland Bless confirmed to Reuters that its investigators had arrived.
The OSCE said the separatists had pledged to provide "safe access"and co-operate with Ukrainian authorities.
Barry and Izzy Sim: "We were supposed to be on flight"
However, separatist leader Alexander Borodai rejected international calls for a truce, as fighting continues between the rebels and Ukrainian forces.
He also denied reports that black box flight recorders of MH17 had been recovered and handed to Moscow.
The rebels have accused the Ukrainian government of downing the airliner.
Vigils have been held outside the Dutch embassy in the Ukrainian capital, KievA candlelit vigil too outside Kuala Lumpur in MalaysiaBut Ukraine's defence ministry said there were no Air Force jets in the area and no surface-to-air systems being used against the rebels.
US and Ukrainian officials said they believed the plane had been brought down by a missile - a Buk thought to have been used by the rebels in Ukraine before.
Ukraine has called the disaster an "act of terrorism", blaming it on Russia who it says has been aiding the rebels in the conflict and supplying them with advanced weapons.
"The Russians are done for. This is an international crime which must be investigated by the international tribunal in The Hague," Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said.
Ukrainian authorities have released what they say are intercepted phone conversations that proved the plane was shot down by pro-Russian separatists.
Buk surface-to-air missile system
Also known as SA-11 Gadfly (or newer SA-17 Grizzly)
Russian-made, mobile, medium range system
Weapons: Four surface-to-air missiles
Missile speed (max): Mach 3
Target altitude (max): 22,000 metres (72,000ft)
Source: Global Security
But Russian President Vladimir Putin has blamed the Ukraine government for restarting military operations in the area, where it is trying to regain control from pro-Russian rebels.
"The country in whose airspace this happened bears responsibility for it," he said.
Russia has called for a "thorough and unbiased" investigation, adding that the tragedy also highlighted a need for a swift end to the Ukrainian conflict.
Senior vice-president of Malaysia Airlines Huib Gorter said the plane was sound
Earlier on Friday, Malaysia Airlines' senior vice-president Europe, Huib Gorter, said the plane involved had been in service since 1997, had a clean maintenance record and that all communications were functioning normally at the time.
He said the flight route had been declared safe by the authorities, was being used by many other airlines and was not subject to any restrictions.
Watch Video Here>>>>
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