Canadian government aids Air India disaster relatives

Sean O’Riordan

Hundreds of people are expected to fly in for the commemoration which will take place at Ahakista on June 23 and which will be attended by President Mary McAleese.

All 329 people on Flight 182 died when the aircraft was blown up off the West Cork coast in 1985.

The Canadian federal government in Vancouver announced yesterday that it had set aside E1,069,250 to subsidise travel to Ireland for relatives of those who died in the disaster.

The subsidy is open to two members of each family and they will each receive $2,500 (E1,625).

Perviz Madon of North Vancouver, whose husband was on the flight and who plans to attend the memorial with her two adult children, said she was grateful for the act of generosity. “We were not really anticipating anyone to help us. Most of us were going to borrow money if it came to that. So, I think that has been a kind and good gesture on the part of the Canadian government.”

While the offer is welcome it comes at a time when many relatives remain upset that the Canadian government has not ordered an inquiry into the tragedy. Calls for a probe have grown since March when a British Columbia Supreme Court judge acquitted two men charged with the bombing.