One of the victims of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 crash was found wearing an oxygen mask, raising the possibility that some passengers may have been conscious as the aircraft went down in eastern Ukraine.

Nearly 300 people died when the passenger jet crashed in July while flying over insurgent-held territory in eastern Ukraine.

"You know that somebody was discovered wearing an oxygen mask and had time to put it on," Dutch foreign minister Frans Timmermans said on a late night Dutch chat show.

The foreign minister suggested the passengers may have been conscious as the plane went down.