I know that all Members of the House will wish to join with me in expressing our deepest sympathy to all those bereaved or who otherwise suffered loss as a result of the tragic crash of Air India flight AI 182 which occurred off the Kerry coast last Sunday morning. A tragedy which claimed the lives of all 329 people — passengers and crew — on board the Boeing 747 is truly horrific and our heartfelt sorrow, and that of the entire Irish nation, goes out to all who have lost their loved ones in the disaster.
Air India flight AI 182, a Boeing 747, Registration No. VT. EFO, en route from Montreal to London and destined for Bombay was in radio communication and radar contact with Shannon Air Traffic Control and the last voice contact with Shannon was at 0709 GMT (0809 local time). At 0713 GMT (0813 local Irish time), the aircraft disappeared from the radar screen. The position of the aircraft at the time was 51º N 12.50º W, which is approximately 100 nautical miles from the Kerry coast. No distress message was received from the aircraft but at approximately 0803 GMT (0903 local time) signals were picked up from an emergency location transmitter.
A massive search and rescue operation was immediately launched under the control of the Marine Rescue Co-ordination Centre, Shannon, involving a wide range of services, Air Traffic Services, the Air Corps, the Naval Service, the RAF, the Royal Navy, the US Air Force, the lifeboats from Valentia, Courtmac-sharry, Baltimore and Ballycotton, land based services such as Shannon Aeradio (Ballygirreen), Valentia Coast Station, the Meteorological Service, the Garda and the Southern Health Board. An emergency plan for the reception of casualties was put into immediate operation at the Cork Regional Hospital.
On being informed of the incident just before 10 o'clock on Sunday morning, I immediately notified the Taoiseach and other Ministers who might be affected. The Indian Ambassador was notified by the Department of Foreign Affairs. I assembled a team of technical and administrative officials from my Department, together with representatives from the Department of Foreign Affairs, from the Office of the Attorney General and from the Government Information Service. A team of officials was subsequently despatched to Cork Airport and an all-night emergency telephone service was opened up within my Department.
Wreckage from the aircraft and bodies were located over a five square mile stretch of the sea about 112 miles southwest of Mizen Head. Unfortunately, no survivors were found and up to midnight on Sunday 130 bodies had been recovered, most being brought to Cork Regional Hospital. The search was continued through Sunday night by the LE Aisling, the LE Emer and HMS Challen-ger, supported by a Nimrod aircraft, and the full air and sea search was resumed at dawn yesterday morning. While further wreckage was recovered, only one body was located; 198 victims are still missing and, with the hopes of finding them diminished, the search has been scaled back. However, the LE Aisling and LE Emer, with assistance from the Irish Air Corps, will continue to search.
Investigation of the accident will be conducted under the provisions of Annex 13 to the Chicago Convention and will also, we understand, be subject to a judicial inquiry under Indian law. While the aircraft was under the control of Shannon Air Traffic Control at the time of the crash, it was operating in international air space over the high seas. Annex 13 provides that in such situations responsibility for the investigation of an accident rests with the state of registry of the air-craft—in this case the Indian authorities. Official representatives from India have already arrived in Ireland and have visited Cork and overflown the scene of the crash. Preliminary consultations have taken place with officials from my Department and with representatives from the Canadian and United States authorities. I had a meeting this afternoon with the Indian representatives and have pledged the full co-operation and assistance of my Department in the investigation. It is our intention that, subject to the agreement of the Indian authorities, a representative of the Department of Communications will participate in the investigation. The United States, as country of manufacture of the aircraft, and Canada, as country of origin of the flight, are, of course, keenly interested and already have representatives in attendance in Cork.
I understand from the Indian authorities that they are currently exploring with experts from the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada possibilities for recovery of the aircraft's "black box" from the ocean bed.
While there has been speculation as to the causes of the accident, we must await the outcome of the official investigation before any definitive conclusions are drawn. Nonetheless, given the speculation that has taken place, it makes it all the more important that the autopsies, forensic, ballistic and other tests be absolutely thorough in order to adduce every bit of evidence as to the cause of the disaster. The work being conducted under the Chief State Pathologist in this regard will be completed as speedily as possible. The Cork City Coroner is addressing the problem of identification of those bodies recovered which is a necessary prerequisite to the release of the bodies.
Aside altogether from the present tragedy, the happenings of recent weeks in the aviation world have served to point up the vulnerability of the industry to acts of terrorism. The civil aviation community has adopted comprehensive and resolute measures at international level to ensure the maximum safeguards against hijacking and other acts of terrorism—as evidenced by the Conventions of Tokyo, the Hague and Montreal — and the industry, at governmental level under the auspices of ICAO — the International Civil Aviation Organisation, which is the governing body for international civil aviation — and at airline level under the auspices of IATA, the International Air Transport Association, is urgently reviewing the world aviation security situation. Because of the tragedy I was unable to attend a meeting of EC Ministers of Transport held in Luxembourg yesterday, but I know that the Council was both shocked at the disaster and, on a wider level, concerned about the safety exposure of passengers and air crews and of aircraft and airports to acts of terrorism.
For our part in Ireland, I should say that we have ratified all three international Conventions and we observe a very high standard of security both at our airports and by the national airline. We must exercise constant vigilance in this area and yesterday I directed both Aer Rianta and Aer Lingus to take any necessary additional precautions in the area of security in the light of recent events.
As an island nation, tragedies at sea are nothing new to us. A disaster on the scale suffered last Sunday, involving as it did the largest ever loss of lives in an air accident at sea, cannot but touch all of us very deeply. The Taoiseach on Sunday spoke by telephone to the Indian Prime Minister, Mr. Rajiv Gandhi, and to the Canadian Prime Minister, Mr. Brian Mulroney, and conveyed his sympathy and that of the Irish people at the very tragic loss of life. A personal message of thanks has been received by the Taoiseach from the Indian Prime Minister. I have conveyed my sympathy directly to the Canadian Minister for Transport, Mr. Donald Mazankowski, and have met the Indian Ambassador through whom I have conveyed my sympathy to the Indian Minister of State for Civil Aviation.
I believe that all in this House will, on behalf of the Irish Government, both Houses of the Oireachtas and the Irish people, wish to convey to the Indian and Canadian authorities, and to all who have been bereaved or have suffered in any way from the disaster, our heartfelt sorrow.
In conclusion, I would like to place on record my thanks and the thanks of the Government to all who assisted in the rescue effort — to the Air Traffic Control service at Shannon, whose diligence and professionalism speedily identified and pinpointed the incident, to the staff of the Marine Rescue Co-ordination Centre who set the rescue mission in motion and who were assisted by Shannon Aeradio and Valentia Coast Radio and by the Falmouth and Swansea Rescue Co-ordination Centres, to the Air Traffic Control Services at Cork and Dublin, to all those who participated in the search at sea, including the members of the Irish Navy and Air Corps, the members of the Royal Air Force and the United States Air Force, the Royal Navy, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, the captains and crews of other vessels that assisted in the search, to the Meteorological Service, to all of the staff at Cork Airport, to the Garda and the Army, to the staff of Telecom Éireann, to the staff of the Southern Health Board, and in particular to the staff of the Cork Regional Hospital who are dealing with the situation in a most professional way. It would be very remiss of me not to thank the administrative and technical staff of my own Department, the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Attorney General's Office and the Government Information Service. Finally, I would also like to place on record in a special way the Government's appreciation of the kindness and generosity of the Cork people who offered all possible assistance to the relatives of the dead. I am sure that the House will wish to join with me in conveying the sincerest thanks to everyone associated in any way with the rescue mission and in conveying to the Indian and Canadian peoples our profound sympathy.
