Dramatic new footage has emerged purporting to show the immediate aftermath of the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17.

Horrified villagers are seen rushing towards the crash site near the village of Hrabove where a large plume of black smoke can be seen engulfing the area.

The footage via Russian newspaper KN KPRU shows people trying to extinguish the flames of the burning fuel with buckets of water.

It comes as wreckage from the site is finally removed, some four months after the plane was shot down over eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board.

It is believed to have been shot down by pro-Russian separatists using a surface-to-air missile supplied by Russia - a claim which the country denies.

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