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The Province
15 hours ago
- General
- The Province
Air India bombing first responders recall the horrors of June 23, 1985
Even 40 years after the Air India bombing, the horror of being handed a dead baby pulled from the sea is seared in Mark Stagg's memory Mark Stagg in Bantry, a coastal town in West Cork, Ireland. Mark Stagg, who was 26 in June 1985 and third officer on the Laurentian Forest, a merchant marine vessel that was 12 miles from where the Air India plane went down. He came here for the 40th anniversary to be with families he has grown close to. Photo by Kim Bolan / Postmedia News BANTRY, Ireland — Even 40 years after the Air India bombing, the horror of being handed a dead baby pulled from the sea is seared into Mark Stagg's memory. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors The child, who had been aboard Air India Flight 182 when a B.C.-made bomb exploded on June 23, 1985, looked perfect, Stagg says. 'It was dressed. It just looked like it was asleep,' he recalled here. 'I remember touching the baby's face against my face. It was so cold.' He was a young third officer on the Laurentian Forest, a merchant vessel en route from Canada to Dublin with a load of newsprint on that terrible day. It was a grey, drizzly morning when the radio call came in. A plane was missing, a Boeing 747, 'with 329 souls on board,' Stagg said. Their ship was first to the area, but they couldn't see much. Stagg's lookout on the bridge, Daniel Brown, spotted something orange floating. They lowered a lifeboat to get closer. It was an uninflated escape slide. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. A Royal Air Force Nimrod maritime patrol aircraft flew over and messaged them about the scope of the disaster — the debris was spread over 285 square kilometres, said Stagg. The jet dropped smoke markers where they could see bodies and the Laurentian Forest crew got to work. They were soon joined by British army and navy helicopters, an Irish navy ship, Spanish fishing trawlers, the Valentia lifeboat from County Kerry. Even a U.S. military helicopter helped. Hundreds risked their lives to try to recover the Air India victims, 268 of whom were Canadian. In the end, 132 of the victims were found. At the time they had no idea that the plane had been targeted by B.C.'s Babbar Khalsa separatist group to send the Indian government a message. They didn't know about a second bomb that went off at Tokyo's Narita Airport 54 minutes earlier, killing two baggage handlers. And they didn't know that some of them would later testify at a criminal trial in Vancouver that would end in acquittals or at the public inquiry that followed. Essential reading for hockey fans who eat, sleep, Canucks, repeat. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Stagg now makes the annual pilgrimage from his home in Hampshire, England, to be with victims' relatives at the annual Air India memorial service. He finds peace here and is grateful for the love the families have shown all those who tried to save their loved ones. Sanjay Lazar, left, who lost his father, sister and stepmother in the Air India bombing, catches up with first responder Mark Stagg, who helped recover bodies, in Bantry, Ireland, on June 20, 2025. Photo by Kim Bolan For 12 hours straight that Sunday, Stagg stayed on deck and received bodies that helicopter winchmen had picked up. None of them could focus on the grisly scene — the ocean full of bodies and plane wreckage. 'It was numbing. I don't think it fully sunk in until later. I was only 26 and had no children,' Stagg said. 'Some of the guys I was working with really struggled, because they had children, and they were associating what they were dealing with with their own children.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The winchmen were lowering the bodies onto the ship where Stagg and others figured out how to handle them. They had no stretchers or body bags, so improvised. A cabin door became a stretcher. Plastic linings were pulled from inflatable dunnage bags used to prevent cargo from moving around. 'There was a moment when the winchman did come down. So I went over to see what he wanted … and he just looked me straight the eyes and said 'I'm so sorry.' And then he gave me the baby.' Stagg placed the child into one of the bags. He later told the Ottawa inquiry about how that moment changed him. 'I cannot begin to describe the utter wrongness of putting children into plastic bags,' he testified in 2006. And while he is in a better place mentally now, he told Postmedia here that 'it hurts me to this day. I still feel bad. I feel like I've committed a crime.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Stagg and the crew were also focused on keeping those on the ship's lifeboat safe as they tried to pull bodies out. The waves lifted and dropped the boat, pulling it dangerously close to the ship. Brown, who now lives in Nova Scotia, recalled how they struggled to pull the bodies in. Covered in fuel, they kept slipping out of the crew's hands. 'Everybody was trying to get hold and maintain a grip, and the only reason that we got our first body in was because I grabbed the woman's hair,' said Brown, who was 23. 'The second one was a young girl that I picked up on my own.' Then there was a man missing half his body. They couldn't get him. After several hours, they had managed to pull seven people in, including an older Sikh man who Brown said had a look of terror on his face. That was the face that gave Brown nightmares. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. A huge American helicopter ended up taking all the bodies off the Laurentian Forest — about 16 in all. The ship carried on to port. Brown and Stagg were never the same. They struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder over the years, eventually seeking counselling for the trauma they endured that June 23. The two reunited 20 years later to attend their first Air India memorial service together. There was a powerful moment when Stagg saw a photo of Sanjay Turlapati, a 14-year old from Toronto, who died with his brother Deepak, 11. He realized he had tended to Sanjay on his ship's deck. He met Sanjay's mother Padmini Turlapati for the first time. He was overwhelmed when she thanked him. Mark Stagg speaks on behalf of first responders at the 40th Anniversary service for the Air India bombing on June 23, 2025 in Ahakista, Ireland. Photo by Kim Bolan / Postmedia News Both men have come as often as they can to the memorial here, though Brown attended one in Toronto this year. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Stagg calls it a 'healing community.' Brown says he 'always' feels better after he comes. This year, Stagg spoke at the service on behalf of the first responders — 'the trauma, the tragedy, the sadness, changed us all forever.' He thanked the victims' families. 'Despite their huge grief and loss, I and my colleagues have always been shown such love and such comfort, lifted us up from the low points.' kbolan@ Blueksy: @ Read More
Vancouver Sun
17 hours ago
- General
- Vancouver Sun
Air India bombing first responders recall the horrors of June 23, 1985
BANTRY, Ireland — Even 40 years after the Air India bombing, the horror of being handed a dead baby pulled from the sea is seared into Mark Stagg's memory. The child, who had been aboard Air India Flight 182 when a B.C.-made bomb exploded on June 23, 1985, looked perfect, Stagg says. 'It was dressed. It just looked like it was asleep,' he recalled here. 'I remember touching the baby's face against my face. It was so cold.' He was a young third officer on the Laurentian Forest, a merchant vessel en route from Canada to Dublin with a load of newsprint on that terrible day. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. It was a grey, drizzly morning when the radio call came in. A plane was missing, a Boeing 747, 'with 329 souls on board,' Stagg said. Their ship was first to the area, but they couldn't see much. Stagg's lookout on the bridge, Daniel Brown, spotted something orange floating. They lowered a lifeboat to get closer. It was an uninflated escape slide. A Royal Air Force Nimrod maritime patrol aircraft flew over and messaged them about the scope of the disaster — the debris was spread over 285 square kilometres, said Stagg. The jet dropped smoke markers where they could see bodies and the Laurentian Forest crew got to work. They were soon joined by British army and navy helicopters, an Irish navy ship, Spanish fishing trawlers, the Valentia lifeboat from County Kerry. Even a U.S. military helicopter helped. Hundreds risked their lives to try to recover the Air India victims, 268 of whom were Canadian. In the end, 132 of the victims were found. At the time they had no idea that the plane had been targeted by B.C.'s Babbar Khalsa separatist group to send the Indian government a message. They didn't know about a second bomb that went off at Tokyo's Narita Airport 54 minutes earlier, killing two baggage handlers. And they didn't know that some of them would later testify at a criminal trial in Vancouver that would end in acquittals or at the public inquiry that followed. Stagg now makes the annual pilgrimage from his home in Hampshire, England, to be with victims' relatives at the annual Air India memorial service. He finds peace here and is grateful for the love the families have shown all those who tried to save their loved ones. For 12 hours straight that Sunday, Stagg stayed on deck and received bodies that helicopter winchmen had picked up. None of them could focus on the grisly scene — the ocean full of bodies and plane wreckage. 'It was numbing. I don't think it fully sunk in until later. I was only 26 and had no children,' Stagg said. 'Some of the guys I was working with really struggled, because they had children, and they were associating what they were dealing with with their own children.' The winchmen were lowering the bodies onto the ship where Stagg and others figured out how to handle them. They had no stretchers or body bags, so improvised. A cabin door became a stretcher. Plastic linings were pulled from inflatable dunnage bags used to prevent cargo from moving around. 'There was a moment when the winchman did come down. So I went over to see what he wanted … and he just looked me straight the eyes and said 'I'm so sorry.' And then he gave me the baby.' Stagg placed the child into one of the bags. He later told the Ottawa inquiry about how that moment changed him. 'I cannot begin to describe the utter wrongness of putting children into plastic bags,' he testified in 2006. And while he is in a better place mentally now, he told Postmedia here that 'it hurts me to this day. I still feel bad. I feel like I've committed a crime.' Stagg and the crew were also focused on keeping those on the ship's lifeboat safe as they tried to pull bodies out. The waves lifted and dropped the boat, pulling it dangerously close to the ship. Brown, who now lives in Nova Scotia, recalled how they struggled to pull the bodies in. Covered in fuel, they kept slipping out of the crew's hands. 'Everybody was trying to get hold and maintain a grip, and the only reason that we got our first body in was because I grabbed the woman's hair,' said Brown, who was 23. 'The second one was a young girl that I picked up on my own.' Then there was a man missing half his body. They couldn't get him. After several hours, they had managed to pull seven people in, including an older Sikh man who Brown said had a look of terror on his face. That was the face that gave Brown nightmares. A huge American helicopter ended up taking all the bodies off the Laurentian Forest — about 16 in all. The ship carried on to port. Brown and Stagg were never the same. They struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder over the years, eventually seeking counselling for the trauma they endured that June 23. The two reunited 20 years later to attend their first Air India memorial service together. There was a powerful moment when Stagg saw a photo of Sanjay Turlapati, a 14-year old from Toronto, who died with his brother Deepak, 11. He realized he had tended to Sanjay on his ship's deck. He met Sanjay's mother Padmini Turlapati for the first time. He was overwhelmed when she thanked him. Both men have come as often as they can to the memorial here, though Brown attended one in Toronto this year. Stagg calls it a 'healing community.' Brown says he 'always' feels better after he comes. This year, Stagg spoke at the service on behalf of the first responders — 'the trauma, the tragedy, the sadness, changed us all forever.' He thanked the victims' families. 'Despite their huge grief and loss, I and my colleagues have always been shown such love and such comfort, lifted us up from the low points.' kbolan@ Blueksy: @
Ottawa Citizen
17 hours ago
- General
- Ottawa Citizen
Air India bombing first responders recall the horrors of June 23, 1985
BANTRY, Ireland — Even 40 years after the Air India bombing, the horror of being handed a dead baby pulled from the sea is seared into Mark Stagg's memory. Article content The child, who had been aboard Air India Flight 182 when a B.C.-made bomb exploded on June 23, 1985, looked perfect, Stagg says. Article content 'It was dressed. It just looked like it was asleep,' he recalled here. 'I remember touching the baby's face against my face. It was so cold.' Article content Article content He was a young third officer on the Laurentian Forest, a merchant vessel en route from Canada to Dublin with a load of newsprint on that terrible day. Article content Article content It was a grey, drizzly morning when the radio call came in. A plane was missing, a Boeing 747, 'with 329 souls on board,' Stagg said. Article content Their ship was first to the area, but they couldn't see much. Stagg's lookout on the bridge, Daniel Brown, spotted something orange floating. They lowered a lifeboat to get closer. It was an uninflated escape slide. Article content A Royal Air Force Nimrod maritime patrol aircraft flew over and messaged them about the scope of the disaster — the debris was spread over 285 square kilometres, said Stagg. Article content The jet dropped smoke markers where they could see bodies and the Laurentian Forest crew got to work. They were soon joined by British army and navy helicopters, an Irish navy ship, Spanish fishing trawlers, the Valentia lifeboat from County Kerry. Even a U.S. military helicopter helped. Article content Article content Hundreds risked their lives to try to recover the Air India victims, 268 of whom were Canadian. In the end, 132 of the victims were found. Article content Article content At the time they had no idea that the plane had been targeted by B.C.'s Babbar Khalsa separatist group to send the Indian government a message. They didn't know about a second bomb that went off at Tokyo's Narita Airport 54 minutes earlier, killing two baggage handlers. And they didn't know that some of them would later testify at a criminal trial in Vancouver that would end in acquittals or at the public inquiry that followed. Article content Stagg now makes the annual pilgrimage from his home in Hampshire, England, to be with victims' relatives at the annual Air India memorial service. He finds peace here and is grateful for the love the families have shown all those who tried to save their loved ones. Article content Article content For 12 hours straight that Sunday, Stagg stayed on deck and received bodies that helicopter winchmen had picked up. None of them could focus on the grisly scene — the ocean full of bodies and plane wreckage.
