A former senior police officer is still haunted by the face of an 8-year-old girl who died in the MH17 crash 12 years ago. Richard Martin, a former deputy assistant commissioner, was part of the team that aided formal identification of the bodies at Eindhoven air base in the Netherlands.
Former senior police officer Richard Martin still remembers the face of an eight-year-old girl who was one of the youngest victims of the Malaysian Airline crash in 2014.
The girl's angelic face, perfectly still and silent, haunts Martin 12 years later. Martin, a former deputy assistant commissioner, was part of the team that aided formal identification of the bodies at Eindhoven air base in the Netherlands. He witnessed firsthand the true horror of what had happened and recalled how it stayed with him for a while. Martin said that the real work was done by his officers and that he spent time inside the mortuary.
He also mentioned that the girl was the same age as his daughter at the time, which made it even more difficult for him to ignore. The plane, MH17, was travelling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it was shot down by a Russian-made Buk missile. All passengers, including 80 children and 15 crew members on board perished. Of those who died, 10 were Britons.
Martin, now 58, had been the on-call lead for UK policing's Disaster Victim Identification team. Their deeply human work helps grieving relatives seeking answers and justice at the most unimaginable times. The team receives no extra payment for their work. Unlike the girl, for scores of other jet victims the destructive force of the explosion left them unrecognisable.
Martin recalled that he had dealt with quite a lot of death during his service, having been a detective and working his way through. He also mentioned that in something that's quite traumatic like a plane disaster people don't always look like people any more. If a plane is hit by a missile in midair, you could be only talking about very tiny parts of people.
Martin retired in 2020 after three decades with the Met, West Midlands Police and National Criminal Intelligence Service. He said that nothing prepares you for mass casualties like that and that he had dealt with quite a lot of death during his service. He also mentioned that in something that's quite traumatic like a plane disaster people don't always look like people any more.
If a plane is hit by a missile in midair, you could be only talking about very tiny parts of people. Martin recalled that he had seen the tragic girl's face again while asleep and that it haunted him for a while. He also mentioned that if he's honest, he don't think you'd survive in policing without being resilient.
Martin's story is a reminder of the devastating impact of the Malaysian Airline crash and the bravery of those who helped identify the victims. Their work is a testament to the human spirit and the importance of seeking justice and answers in the face of tragedy
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