Irish Examiner view: Families bereaved by 1979 Betelgeuse disaster deserve answers

There are still many unanswered questions about Ireland’s worst maritime disaster at Whiddy Island in Bantry Bay 

The Betelgeuse on fire at Whiddy Island Oil Terminal, Bantry, Co Cork. Picture: Irish Examiner Archive

It is 44 years since the tragedy of the Betelgeuse in which 51 people died as a result of the ship exploding while moored off the oil storage facility at Whiddy Island at Bantry, Co Cork. 

It is also 44 years in which the families of those lost in Ireland’s worst maritime disaster have sought answers as to what happened. The families in Ireland and France are still awaiting answers are still awaiting answers and it is therefore cruel, unreasonable and unacceptable that they have not got them. That justice has not been served, nor seen to have been served, in this case is still a source of anxiety and unending grief for those left behind.