Lockerbie families mark 20th anniversary

LOVED ones of the 270 victims of the Lockerbie bombing yesterday began taking part in a series of events to mark the 20th anniversary of the atrocity.

Pan Am Flight 103 from Heathrow to New York exploded in the skies above the Scottish town on this date in 1988.

All 259 people on board were killed and a further 11 died on the ground below.

A number of “low key” ceremonies took place in the town throughout the day.

Services were also to be held at Heathrow and in the US to remember those who lost their lives.

More than 150 people attended a wreath-laying ceremony yesterday at Lockerbie’s Dryfesdale Cemetery.

A short service was carried out as part of the event with the readings by the town’s Lord Lieutenant and a representative from the US Consulate.

Many of those in the congregation were emotional throughout the service and could be seen wiping tears from their eyes.

People laid their own floral tributes in the cemetery’s garden of remembrance yesterday.

One read: “Twenty years have passed since you all left us to become flying angels.

“Your souls and spirits will always be with each and every one of us.”

Up to 300 people, including relatives and some former employees of the Pan Am airline were expected to attend a private memorial at Heathrow Airport chapel, led by the Reverend John Mosey, whose daughter Helga died in the disaster.

New York State’s Syracuse University, which lost 35 students in the bombing, also held a memorial.

Paying tribute, Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond said his thoughts were with the people of Lockerbie, and all of those affected by the disaster on both sides of the Atlantic.

He said: “I know that through the events being organised in Lockerbie, at Syracuse University, and at other locations in the UK and the US, that fitting tribute will be paid to those who so tragically lost their lives and those, in south of Scotland and beyond, whose lives have been affected by the atrocity.

“The anniversary also presents an opportunity to reflect on what has happened since — on the strength that the community has shown in coping with such adversity, on the lasting links that have been established with those in other nations who were touched by the disaster, and the subsequent development of the town and its prospects for the future.

“I offer my support to all involved in marking the anniversary and, in particular, my condolences to those who will be mourning the loss of a loved one.”

Former Libyan intelligence officer Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi was found guilty of mass murder following a trial in the Netherlands in 2001.

Al Megrahi, who was recently diagnosed with terminal prostate cancer, has consistently denied responsibility for the bombing and a second appeal against his conviction will be heard by the courts next year.