A piece of the wreckage of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 is pictured on Friday in Shaktarsk, the day after it crashed. Photo: AFP

Graphics: GT

World leaders called for a rapid investigation into the shooting down of a Malaysian airliner over eastern Ukraine and justice for the nearly 300 deaths, in what could mark a pivotal moment in deteriorating relations between Russia and the West.

Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 with 298 people aboard was downed Thursday while en route to Kuala Lumpur from Amsterdam.

Makeshift white flags marked where bodies lay in corn fields and among the debris. Others, stripped bare by the force of the crash, had been covered by polythene sheeting weighed down by stones, one marked with a flower in remembrance.

In a televised speech on Friday, US President Barack Obama called for an immediate cease-fire in eastern Ukraine.

Obama said the missile fired at the plane was from a rebel-held area of Ukraine, but "we don't know yet what exactly happened," while demanding a credible investigation into the crash.

The UN Security Council called for a "full, thorough and independent international investigation" into the downing of the plane and "appropriate accountability" for those responsible.

US Ambassador to the UN Samantha Power told the Security Council that the plane was "likely downed by a surface-to-air missile ... operated from a separatist-held location in eastern Ukraine."

Russia's UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin warned against any attempts to pressure an investigation by "trying to prejudge its outcome with broad statements and insinuations that are unjustified in such a difficult situation."

He said there should be an "impartial, open investigation of what happened" and that Moscow believed an international commission should be created under the UN International Civil Aviation Organization.

China's UN envoy, Liu Jieyi, told the meeting that, "Our priority now is to establish facts. Pending that, it is not advisable to jump to any conclusion, make any assumptions or trade accusations. We support conducting an independent, just and objective investigation of the incident."

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in an initial response, said it was too early to decide on further sanctions before it was known exactly what had happened to the plane.

Britain insisted that the facts must be established by a UN-led investigation before additional sanctions could be seriously considered.

Kiev and Moscow immediately blamed each other for the disaster, triggering a new phase in their propaganda war.

The plane crashed about 40 kilometers from the border with Russia near the regional capital of Donetsk, an area that is a stronghold of rebels.

Ukraine said on Friday that up to 181 bodies had been found.

A number of those on board were travelling to an international AIDS conference in Melbourne, including Joep Lange, an influential Dutch expert.

The loss of MH17 is the second devastating blow for Malaysia Airlines this year, following the mysterious disappearance of MH370 in March, which vanished with 239 passengers and crew on board on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

In Malaysia, there was a sense of disbelief that another airline disaster could strike so soon.

"This is a tragic day, in what has already been a tragic year, for Malaysia," Prime Minister Najib Razak said.

International air lanes had been open in the area, though only above 32,000 feet.

International airline carriers, including all Chinese airlines, have rerouted their flight paths to avoid eastern Ukraine.

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