Observers in eastern Ukraine believe bodies from Malaysian Airlines flight 17 have been moved into refrigerated railway cars with rebels now prepared to allow international experts in to start processing them.
Monitoring mission spokesman Michael Bociurkiw said in a "significant development" the OSCE had been allowed to visit the village of Torez near the crash site with good security.
At the railway station the team observed three refrigerated rail cars holding bodies, Mr Bociurkiw told reporters in a conference call on Sunday.
"We were told there were 169 bodies there although we have no way of independently verifying that," the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe spokesman said.
"The stench was absolutely overwhelming. I don't want to be too gruesome but it's a very, very difficult scene to watch."
Prime Minister Tony Abbott says Australia will do everything in its power to ensure the bodies of 37 Australians killed on Flight MH17 are respected and justice is done.
Almost 300 people perished when the plane was downed on Thursday.
Mr Bociurkiw said if the bodies at Torez were indeed MH17 victims it was a positive development because there were all being kept in one location.
He suggested they were moved on Saturday night or very early on Sunday morning.
"We were further told that the plan now is to keep those railway cars there and allow in international experts and then at that time a decision will be made where to take them," the mission spokesman said.
"They were wondering when experts will be arriving to start processing the bodies.
"The thinking is the cars should be taken to Ukrainian-controlled territory, such as Kharkiv, and they can be processed there."
Mr Bociurkiw said there appeared to be a preparedness to listen to international experts - from the Netherlands, Malaysia and other countries - and follow their guidance.
The railway cars were from Soviet times but there was no doubt they were refrigerated with power coming from the locomotive, he said.
The body bags the team saw were tagged with numbers.
But Mr Bociurkiw stressed it was not possible to enter the cars without professional protective equipment.
"The issue is what kind of security will be provided to the experts to actually get to this region where we are now."
The spokesman said the monitoring mission could try and facilitate that movement because it had "fairly good relationships with the people in charge".
The team on Sunday was escorted to the railway station by armed guards from the Donetsk People's Republic.
Back at the crash site Mr Bociurkiw said the body bags that had been previously on the ground had been removed.
He added that some bodies appeared to have been "vaporised".
"Not only bodies, but also parts, the heat must have been so intense."
He added that at the site there was now plastic tape around some areas that wasn't there on Saturday which was a "huge development".
Russian news agencies, however, report the bodies are heading to the rebel stronghold of Donetsk.
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