We were surrounded by bodies everywhere

A CHOPPY sea littered with bodies, suitcases, seats and brightly-coloured clothes was how an Irish naval officer yesterday described the aftermath of the Air India explosion in 1985.

Relatives of those who died in the atrocity sobbed as the first witnesses from Ireland were called to Canada to give harrowing evidence at the trial of two men accused of planting a bomb that killed 329 people.

Evidence from two Irish naval officers and a merchant seaman was heard at the trial, along with a recording from Shannon Aircraft Control after the doomed Flight 182 disappeared off the radar.

The State’s second-highest ranking naval officer described the scene when he arrived early in the morning of June 23, 1985. Captain James Robinson, then commander of the navy ship LE Aisling, was the first witness of the scene to give evidence.

He told the trial in Vancouver: “We were surrounded by wreckage and just bodies everywhere. The situation on the bridge of my ship, as you can imagine, was somewhat tense. The area was full of smoke from the aircraft. I must admit I got a little bit concerned myself. I thought this is what you trained for, so let’s do it.”

Cpt Robinson launched an inflatable boat, the Gemini. Its crew of three recovered six bodies at a time before returning them to the ship.

“Obviously having fallen as they did, the bodies were damaged, and it was difficult for the helicopter crews to recover them,” he said.

Cpt Robinson gave evidence as he scanned 88 photographs taken on the day by a member of his crew, Corporal Tom Smyth, who also took the stand this week.

“The bodies were wrapped in sheets and stowed in two compartments that were allocated for that purpose,” said Cpt Robinson.

Cpl Smyth, who shook hands with the relatives of the dead, was asked whether the pictures of the bodies being hoisted into the inflatable boat were typical of the entire day. He replied: “Yes sir, it never stopped.”

Daniel Brown, an Irish merchant seaman on one of 19 ships that responded to mayday calls, broke down in the stand as he recalled how they could not pick up all the bodies. “Some I even had in my hands, but we couldn’t get them into the boat,” he said.

Ripudaman Singh Malik, 56, of Vancouver, and Ajaib Singh Bagri, 53, of Kamloops, BC, face multiple counts, including first-degree murder, attempted murder and conspiracy in the bombing of Flight 182. They also face charges in another bombing 54 minutes earlier, when two baggage handlers were killed at Tokyo’s Narita airport after a suitcase bomb exploded. Air India Flight 301 was the intended target.

A tape of the last attempts to make contact with the plane was played in court. Shannon air traffic controller Michael Quinn is heard to call “Air India Flight 182” over and over again. He radioed other aircraft, asking crew to be on the lookout for the flight.