Grief-stricken relatives of the victims of last month's Singapore Airlines crash here gathered Saturday to mourn their loved ones in an emotional memorial service.
Taiwan's Premier Chang Chun-hsiung led an ecumenical service at the Taoyuan Dome Stadium, which had been strewn with ribbons and white lillies.
Pictures of the dead tied with black ribbons, and framed condolence messages from President Chen Shui-bian, Vice President Annette Lu and other high-ranking government officials, hung on a white silk backdrop at the center of the stadium.
Some 2,500 mourners, including relatives of the victims, Singapore Airlines (SIA) executives, government officials, foreign representatives, volunteers, and soldiers observed a minute of silence at the beginning of the service in Taoyuan, the nearest town to the Chiang Kai Shek international airport, where flight SQ006 crashed on October 31.
About 30 groups came forward one by one to pay their respects and offer their condolences to the bereaved, clad in black, who sat under the photographs of the victims, many of them weeping.
Some 400 relatives took part in the main service -- 300 from Taiwan and the rest from Singapore, Malaysia, India, Indonesia, Britain and the United States, an SIA official said.
Reflecting the diversity of the victims, Buddhist, Taoist, Christian, Catholic, Hindu, Jewish and Moslem services were held before the public memorial.
Among the officials who attended were Taiwan's Transportation Minister Yeh Chu-lang, Justice Minister Chen Ting-nan, Taoyuan county acting magistrate Hsu Ying-sheng, Singapore's Minister for Communications and Information Technology Yeo Cheow Tong and SIA Deputy Chairman and CEO Cheong Choong Kong.
The Malaysian pilot of the doomed flight, Captain Foong Chee Kong, and his Singaporean first officers Latiff Cyrano and Ng Kheng Leng, did not attend the memorial. The three men have been barred from leaving the island pending the conclusion of an inquiry into the causes of the crash.
The Boeing 747, which was carrying 159 passengers and 20 crew, crashed after smashing into heavy construction equipment while attempting to take off from a runway closed for repairs during a storm. Eighty-two people were killed.
It has yet to be decided whether the pilots will face criminal charges, prosecutor Song Kuo-yeh of Taoyuan district court told AFP.
Singapore Airlines have accepted full responsibility for the catastrophe and have offered to compensate the relatives with 400,000 US dollars for each fatality -- TAIPEI (AFP)
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
