According to a forensic expert, the passengers aboard the ill-fated Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 would not have suffered in their final moments.

University of Canberra adjunct professor David Royds told The Herald Sun that if the passengers were not killed in the initial missile blast, they would have quickly lost consciousness due to cabin conditions.

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“Flying at more than 10km above the ground, the mid-air explosion would have caused the cabin temperature to drop to minus 50C with a sudden drop of air pressure and loss of oxygen,” Professor Royds said.

The plane, which was shot down by a ground-to-air missile 33,000 feet in the air above eastern Ukraine, would have undergone a rapid decompression in the cabin leaving all 298 passengers unaware of their fate.

“That extremely cold environment would have rendered the passengers unconscious within seconds,” Professor Royds said.

“It’s very unlikely the passengers would have suffered, there would have been no time to worry.”

Flight MH17 crashed in Ukrainian farming land last Thursday, killing all 298 passengers and sparking international outrage.

There were 37 Australians on the plane.