headquarters in new york this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt. good evening. there are disturbing reports of bodies being taken to unknown locations, passenger belongings stolen and evidence being spirited away from the site of that downed malaysian jetliner in eastern ukraine. tonight, outside investigators eager to secure the scene and learn who fired the missile that brought down the plane killing 298 people claim they are being blocked by russian-backed militiamen who control the area. and so tonight that sprawling crash zone littered with wreckage and human remains is a center of growing international outrage. our keir simmons spent the day at the scene. he joins us now from donetsk to tell us what he witnessed. keir, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, lester. so far 190 bodies have been found out of the 298 passengers who died. today, through many military checkpoints we reached the crash site and found a scene of horror. some of the dead being carried away today, the bodies of passengers whose relatives around the world are waiting. but it took two full days after flight mh-17 was blown out of the sky over the ukrainian countryside. there is debris scattered across this entire area. that is how big the crash site is. and people's possessions everywhere. their suitcases, clothes, here a diary, a cuddly toy and a child's life jacket. further along we found blackened earth where big part of the plane came down in flames. what should be a restricted crime scene guarded by just a few men in civilian clothes. the area is controlled by pro-russian rebels accused by some of shooting down the plane. there's a growing international outcry over how this scene has been compromised. one rebel leader saying victims' credit cards might have been stolen. and today, malaysian officials expressed their concern. >> the world has the moral obligation to ensure that the remains of all victims are recovered and treated with respect. >> reporter: european observers were given more access to the site today, but always accompanied by the heavily armed rebels. >> we have not had the possibility to see a bit more of this rather large scene. we have observed the situation here as it has been presented to us. >> reporter: even if outside investigators, including the fbi and ntsb can get here, many clues may have been lost. as the rebels drove away today with some of the victims, i questioned one of them. where are you taking the bodies? i don't know, he told me. more uncertainty over exactly what happened and who brought down this aircraft. tonight, one rebel leader has told me they plan to keep the bodies safe in order to return them to relatives. national investigators are welcome, he says, and complained they're taking too long to get here. lester. >> keir simmons in ukraine tonight. thank you. the finger pointing remains on who fired the missile that brought down the flight. nbc's chief pentagon correspondent jim miklaszewski with new intelligence on this tonight. >> reporter: these are the telltale photos the ukraine government claims are the smoking gun. they're reportedly pictures of three russian sa-11 missile launchers like the one used in the shootdown of the malaysian airliner. and they're in eastern ukraine where u.s. intelligence is certain the deadly missile was launched. one launcher is missing one of its missiles. ukrainians claim all three launchers were driven across the border back into russia one day after the shootdown. >> they came from the territory of russian civilization together with the missile launcher. >> reporter: u.s. officials suspect that russian trainers and advisors embedded with rebel forces inside ukraine either fired the missile or at least gave the command to shoot down the plane. >> the missile itself is a sophisticated piece of technology. it's strange credulity to think it could be used by separatists without at least some measure of russian support and technical assistance. >> reporter: u.s. intelligence also gets help from the rebels themselves who can't seem to keep a secret. >> people saying we shot down an airplane and then they come along later and say, whoops, well, not really. we really didn't mean that. >> reporter: the missiles are russian-made, launched from an armored vehicle loaded with high-tech electronics. the missile is 18 feet long with a range of 25 miles, 46,000 feet altitude and a speed approaching one mile per second. u.s. officials claim the russians used the same type missile to bring down a ukrainian military cargo plane only three days before the shootdown of the malaysian airliner. and despite tougher u.s. sanctions and worldwide condemnation, so far russian president vladimir putin is showing no signs of backing down. in fact, u.s. officials say the russians continue to pour more money, rebel fighters and heavy weapons into ukraine, lester. >> jim, thanks. we're learning more tonight about some of the 298 people on board the plane and the lives they lived. today, services were held in several countries. nbc's katy tur has more for us from amsterdam. >> reporter: the world was in mourning today. in the netherlands church bells tolled for the victims, 193 from this country alone. >> we pray especially for the people who died in the recent tragic airplane accident. >> reporter: brooke lost her sister, brother-in-law and 17-year-old nephew. >> it's horrible. must die under these circumstances. >> reporter: more victims were named today. british citizen john allen, a lawyer, was traveling with his wife, sandra, and their three children. robert was flying home to his wife and two young sons. families ripped apart. >> they are my parents. my father, my mother. >> reporter: kevin lost three members of his family. his parents, both chefs, were taking his grandmother back to malaysia. >> my mom always says if we are not here one day, you are going to be a strong man. >> reporter: in australia kristen norris is mourning her father and her niece and two nephews. >> i don't know what's going to happen to the family now. i can't -- i don't know how they're going to do it. it's a horrible, horrible, horrible situation. >> reporter: 8-year-old otis, 10-year-old evi and 12-year-old moe were traveling home with their grandfather. their parents booked on a later flight. a prayer service in malaysia today, 50 friends and family members mourned the loss of a flight attendant. the only u.s. citizen on board was 25-year-old quinn schansman. his grandfather was visiting family in the states. >> you just hope that none of your children or the grandchildren are gone before you are. >> reporter: back in amsterdam the memorial outside the malaysia airlines terminal continues to grow as family members wait for answers. detectives are starting to visit family members, getting dna samples in hopes of helping to identify the remains. we are getting late word that 192 bodies have been recovered from the crash site. but again, no idea when or how family members will be reunited with those remains. lester. >> katy tur, thanks. and a program note, tomorrow on "meet the press," much more on the pressure the u.s. is putting on russia's vladimir putin to cooperate. david gregory's guest will be the secretary of state john kerry. israel's ground offensive into gaza intensified today. the death toll is rising. more than 340 palestinians and five israelis have been killed, and diplomats are struggling to work out a cease-fire. nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engel is in gaza for us again tonight. richard. >> reporter: good evening, lester. two israeli soldiers were killed when hamas militants popped out of a tunnel that went into israel. they were wearing israeli uniforms. they fired an rpg at an israeli jeep. the militants were killed -- one of the militants were killed. others managed to escape. this is exactly the kind of attack israel says it's trying to stop with this ground offensive. the israeli army released video it says of two palestinians who fired a rocket today. they're attacked, then followed and eliminated by a drone. it came as israeli troops pushed deeper into gaza today where the streets were empty. gazans afraid to go outside. we found men cleaning up rubble. it was their home. this 19-year-old told us israel bombed it yesterday. there was no hamas here, only civilians, he said. we followed him inside, up and over broken stairs. the place was pulverized. this, a bathroom. that, a fridge. all gone. residents here say there were 80 people in the building at the time, three full families. they did get a warning, a very brief one, a couple warning shots on the roof and then a minute later the house was completely destroyed. luckily everyone managed to get out. they waited on the street, and someone pointed a camera at the building just in time to capture the impact. most gazans are not fighters but are under attack, penned in and desperate according to this human rights lawyer. >> i said can't even dream because it's a blockade of intense. >> reporter: the power only comes four hours a day in gaza city. so they followed the news on a radio. two days into israel's ground offensive hamas militants are still launching rockets from gaza, around 100 today. one killed an israeli civilian and injured four more including children. in israel and in gaza they were again mourning their dead. and, lester, tonight in gaza we are hearing and seeing the heaviest bombardment yet with israeli helicopters, artillery and tanks all firing much of it to the east of gaza city. lester. >> richard engel in gaza. in this country crews continue to battle a series of wildfires in washington state, but so far they've had little luck in containing the flames. about 100 homes have been destroyed with more than 300 square miles burned and the winds are making it worse. nbc's jacob rascon has more. >> reporter: now burning 215,000 acres across the cascade mountains, the carlton complex fire has become the largest wildfire in washington state history. >> well, there's not a whole lot left. >> reporter: as it spread overnight, ron hull and his family had only minutes to get out. >> that's the fire bell that informed me to get out. >> reporter: today they returned to find the home they built and the beekeeping business that sustained them in ashes. what are you going to do? >> start over. i mean, what can you do? >> reporter: in the community where ron lives, the devastation is everywhere. an area so remote authorities haven't yet come up to count the loss. we counted at least 15 homes. mandatory evacuations were ordered across an area three times the size of seattle as fire and smoke raced toward the hillside communities. family after family told to leave. dozens of evacuees like the harrisons returning to their neighborhoods only to find they are now homeless. >> it was like this monster came over our town and just, i don't know. i've never, ever experienced anything like that in my life. >> reporter: little avery hasn't either. >> i loved playing on my playset when it wasn't burned. >> reporter: libbie harrison who is also the mayor of pateros, must also must think how to help rebuild her town. as mayor, what do you do? >> well, i'm headed down to city hall right now. we're working on getting our power, our water back up. >> reporter: six days now of the same scorching heat, wind and tinderbox conditions. and the washington governor says this fire season may be the worst ever with no signs of relief. >> we're seeing kind of the tip of the fire storm here because we unfortunately are going to see this for decades to come. >> reporter: and behind me what's left over of one of the neighborhoods on the front lines, a dozen homes destroyed on one block alone. and even though the fire's at 0% containment, a bit of good news as the fierce conditions fueling the fires all week are finally expected to let upstarting tonight. lester. >> jacob, thank you. this weekend hundreds of protests are planned around the country over the surge of undocumented children entering the u.s. this as the obama administration is scrambling to find places to house tens of thousands of them. nbc's kristen welker is at the white house with more on this. kristen. >> reporter: lester, good evening. this weekend there were more than 300 protests across the country, many organized by conservative groups and most sparsely attended. they're people opposing the surge of children entering the u.s. illegally. many were confronted by counterprotesters advocating for the humane treatment of the children. the obama administration has been scrambling to set up more temporary shelters with little success in this volatile political environment. some groups are filling the void like in baltimore where catholic charities are planning to care for 50 children. advocates for the undocumented minors say the government has failed to explain the situation clearly. meanwhile, government officials estimate there has been a small drop in the number of kids coming across the border. but they are not sure why. it might be because of the education program the white house has launched, or it could be because of bad weather. a number of factors could be at play. lester. >> all right, kristen, thanks. when "nbc nightly news" continues on this saturday, the vivid memories of an incredible feat of aviation survival 25 years ago today. tonight, thousands of miles from the scene of the downing of that jetliner in ukraine, the survivors of another fatal air disaster. an accident that happened in this country 25 years ago today are gathered for an emotional reunion in iowa. in sioux city, iowa, this weekend hugs and tears and vivid memories among survivors of the day fate gave them a second chance. passengers and crew members of united flight 232 reunited 25 years after their calm routine flight from denver to chicago devolved into terror. >> i remember just a huge bang. >> it was just that, from normalcy to just chaos just like that, instantaneous. >> in that instant high over iowa everything changed for the 296 people aboard the dc-10. an explosion in the rear engine disabled the hydraulic system rendering the plane virtually uncontrollable. al haynes was the captain, bill records, his co-pilot, was at the controls. >> first thing that hit me says to me, al, i can't control the airplane. >> with the help of a second officer and offduty pilot, the veteran airmen quickly improvised a way to steer the plane by manipulating thrust on the two good engines. they aimed for the closest airfield, sioux city. in the cabin passengers took the crash position. >> i prayed for the pilots just to get strength to get down. >> on the ground, emergency crews stood ready. >> wings level, gear was down, nose was up, i had no idea how fast a dc-10 should land. looked like it was going to be a good landing to me. >> but the plane was approaching almost 100 miles an hour faster than it should. and then just feet from the ground this. >> and then we smashed into the earth. it was incredible. i remember involuntarily closing my eyes can't believe we hit this hard. >> 112 people died, miraculously though 184 others lived. >> somebody in the pile of debris was moaning and i said, relax, i see help coming. >> at this weekend's reunion they honored those who were lost. >> renee -- >> denise -- >> yesterday, the captain and first officer walked down the runway that they so desperately tried to safely land on that day still burdened by the memories of those who didn't make it. >> i'm happy 184 survived, but we had a lot to do because of the crash with 112 dying. wasn't our fault, but we still have -- that's our responsibility to get the airplane from a to b safely and we didn't do it. >> but those they did save against impossible odds remain eternally grateful to the pilots of flight 232. ntsb investigators later tried to reenact flight 232 in a simulator and determined the damaged plane simply could not have been landed successfully. up next on "nbc nightly news," a brand new photo of a little prince about to have a big first birthday. and he pulls it fair. and it's handled by the ball girl. >> we've all dropped a ball at some point, but we've never seen a reaction quite like this one from a red sox ball girl. she picked up a line drive from kansas city in the fourth inning last night but then realized, whoops, it was a fair ball. she dropped it right back on the field, sat down. and at one point appeared to mouth the words, oh, that's bad, i'm probably going to get fired. tonight, we've learned she's still gainfully employed. sox went onto beat the royals. no harm, no foul. the royal family gearing up for prince george's birthday on tuesday. can you believe he's already turning 1? to celebrate a brand new photo of the baby was released tonight. a photographer captured the prince as he visited a butterfly exhibit at london's natural history museum earlier this month with his parents. by the looks of it he had a great time. coming up, how crowds of all ages are having a whale of a time watching these giants on camera. finally tonight, some relief from the manmade troubles of the world brought to you by mother nature herself. a typical whale watching cruise in california's monterey bay quickly turned into something a little more magical yesterday. nbc's mike taibbi has the story. >> reporter: everybody's got a camera these days, so here's what they saw. a group of ten of these giants barely a quarter mile from the harbor cavorting near or some say for every passenger or casual boater lucky enough to be there. >> they were everywhere. >> reporter: close enough to smell their breath for a long stretch while these humpback whales circled and breached and enjoyed lunch. >> right now all these whales are feeding on anchovies. >> reporter: small fish that move in huge swarms. fishermen and boaters call them bait balls that can encompass millions of anchovies. the whales follow the food supply. this is not the first california example of whales behaving unusually this season. back in may was a couple of gray whales joining swimmers just yards off the beach. >> they actually hung out with the people and started swimming next to them. it was insane. >> reporter: these whale-human encounters close to shore are not unprecedented, but the traditional migratory patterns from alaska down to baja and back usually keep the whales further out. not this time. to the delight of children of all ages. >> how many whales did you see? >> like a lot. >> it was just unbelievable because you can't really capture on film how big they really are. >> reporter: as big as a bus is the answer. 40 tons for the fully grown adults. stopping by for an unhurried visit among human admirers. mike taibbi, nbc news, los angeles. that's "nbc nightly news" for this saturday. i'm lester holt reporting from new york. i'll see you back here tomorrow on "today" and right back here tomorrow evening. good night. nbc's keir simmons went the day at the scene and joins us from donetsk. >> reporter: some of the dead being carried away today, the bodies of passengers whose relatives around the world are waiting. but it took two full days after flight mh-17 was blown out of the sky over the ukrainian countryside. there is debris scattered across this entire area. and people's possessions are everywhere. their suitcases, clothes, here a diary, a cuddly toy and a child's life jacket. further along, we found blackened earth where a big part of the plane came down in flames. the crime scene guarded by just a few men. there's a growing