GENEVA, July 25 -- The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Friday underlined the need to act quickly and follow proper procedures in searching for, collecting, managing and identifying the remains of those who died in the Malaysia Airlines plane crash on 17 July.

"Our thoughts are with the families of the victims, who need to offer their loved ones a proper burial," Morris Tidball-Binz from ICRC's Forensic Services Department said in a statement.

He added the focus is on the need to finish recovering the remains and personal belongings from the crash site as a matter of urgency.

While numerous sets of remains have been recovered so far and are currently undergoing post-mortem analysis and identification procedures, ICRC is concerned that the remains of some victims, and numerous personal belongings, have still not been retrieved and transferred for identification.

The organization stands ready to help ensure that all remains are recovered as quickly as possible, managed in a dignified manner and analyzed in accordance with strict international forensic standards.

ICRC is urging that every effort be made to keep families informed of efforts to find, recover and identify their deceased relatives.

Nearly 300 people were killed when Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was brought down in eastern Ukraine, where separatists are battling government forces, on July 17.