‘The pain is still there': Montreal ceremony marks 40 years since Air India terrorist bombing
People gather near the Lachine Canal to pay tribute to the victims of the 1985 Air India bombing. (CTV News)
Montreal residents gathered Monday evening to mark 40 years since the bombing of an Air India flight that killed all 329 people onboard, including 268 Canadians.
The attack on June 23, 1985 was the deadliest terrorist attack in Canadian history after a bomb on Air India Flight 182 from Toronto to London, England exploded over the Atlantic Ocean. Another bomb intended for another Air India flight also killed two baggage handlers at the Narita airport in Tokyo.
The solemn ceremony in Montreal on Monday took place on the shore of the Lachine Canal in front of a memorial plaque that bears the names of the victims.
Friends and family spread flower pedals and said prayers to honour their loved ones. Many say 40 years later, their wounds have never healed.
Mahesh Sharna, who lost his wife, mother-in-law, and two children, said the bombing feels like it happened yesterday.
Prakesh Sahu lost his father in the bombing. 'It was very hard. It's still hard now … It's been 40 years, but the pain is still there,' he said. 'Time heals everything but it's not so easy.'
Only one person was ever convicted in the attack, Inderjit Singh Reyat, who pleaded guilty to manslaughter and received a 15-year sentence. He was released from prison in 2017.
June 23 also marks The National Day of Remembrance for Victims of Terrorism, first proclaimed in 2005.
'As we mark the National Day of Remembrance for Victims of Terrorism, we remember the victims of the Air India bombing and all others who have lost their lives to terrorism,' said Prime Minister Mark Carney in a statement on Monday.
On the day of the 40th anniversary, the RCMP in British Columbia said a suspect known as 'Mr. X' who was believed to have helped test a bomb on Vancouver Island before the terrorist attack has died before facing charges.
The Mounties are not naming the suspect, saying the evidence was not sufficient to unequivocally confirm the identification of the person who has since died.
Ceremonies marking the anniversary also took place in Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa and County Cork, Ireland, near where Flight 182 went down.
With files from CTV News' Matt Gilmour and The Canadian Press
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