An Australian C-17 military plane is in the air on its way to the Netherlands in preparation to start returning the bodies of Australian victims of the MH17 crash.
Fairfax Media understands the heavy lift transport plane took off from its base in the Middle East and is headed for the Dutch city of Eindhoven, where the Netherlands' second-largest airport is located.
Victims' remains retrieved from the crash site have been loaded onto refrigerated trains and are bound for the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, from where the Australian plane will assist the Dutch in flying them back to the Netherlands for identification.
International news reports have indicated that 282 bodies as well as recovered body parts have been loaded onto the trains. There were 298 victims of the crash.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Tony Abbott attended a ceremony at Parliament House to sign a condolence book for the victims of MH17.
Speaker Bronwyn Bishop led a minute's silence for the victims, before inviting Governor-General Peter Cosgrove, Mr Abbott and senior MPs to sign the book.
Diplomatic representatives of countries that lost citizens on the plane also attended the ceremony and signed their names.
The condolence book is now open to the public.
