AMSTERDAM — Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 crashed in eastern Ukraine after being hit by “a large number of high-energy objects,” the Dutch Safety Board said in findings that appear to indicate a missile attack on the plane.

The Boeing 777 broke up in the air, most likely as a result of structural damage after being penetrated from the outside, the Hague-based authority said in the first official report into the July 17 tragedy that killed 298 people.

“The initial results of the investigation point towards an external cause of the MH17 crash,” said Tjibbe Joustra, the board’s chairman, adding in an interview that metal fragments were found in the bodies of flight crew and are undergoing further analysis. The preliminary report stopped short of identifying a missile strike as the cause of the tragedy.

MH17 was carrying 283 passengers and 15 crew when it came down while traveling over a war zone in eastern Ukraine en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. The U.S. has said the aircraft was probably destroyed by a missile fired by pro-Russian rebels, while breakaway groups and Russian President Vladimir Putin have blamed Ukrainian forces. The Dutch report said Tuesday there was no evidence of a technical fault or crew intervention.

Malaysia Prime Minister Najib Razak said in a statement that the report “leads to the strong suspicion that a surface-to-air missile brought MH17 down, but further investigative work is needed.” His Australian counterpart Tony Abbott also said the findings were consistent with a missile strike.

An analysis of the voice recorder revealed no warning tones in the cockpit, Tuesday’s report said.