France: Tributes paid to victims of Air India crashes at Saint-Gervais memorial
Paris, Aug 24 (IANS) Officials at the Indian Embassy in France on Monday paid their solemn homage at the memorial for the victims of the 1950 and 1966 Air India crashes at Nid d’Aigle, Mont Blanc, marking the seventh anniversary of the memorial’s inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Deputy Chief of Mission (DCM) Eenam Gambhir laid the wreath at the memorial dedicated to the victims of two air plane crashes of Air India.
The 1966 crash had also resulted in the tragic passing away of Homi J Bhabha, pioneering Indian nuclear physicist and architect of India’s nuclear programme.
During her visit, Gambhir also called on Mayor of Saint-Gervais-les-Bains Jean-Marc Peillex, thanking the Municipality of Saint Gervais for its steadfast care of the Air India memorial at Nid d’Aigle. Discussions covered continued cooperation on preserving this shared site of remembrance and deepening people-to-people ties between India and France.
“Grateful to Mayor Jean-Marc Peillex and the municipality of Saint Gervais for organising the commemorative ceremony. DCM also visited Le Fayet cemetery and paid tribute to the victims,” the Indian Embassy in France posted on X.
The memorial was digitally inaugurated by PM Modi during his France visit on August 23, 2019.
During his address at the community reception in Paris on the same day, PM Modi highlighted that India and France also stand with each other in the moments of sorrow.
“An example of this is also this memorial of two Air India plane accidents in France. Many Indian passengers died in these accidents. One of the greatest scientists of India, Dr. Homi Jahangir Bhabha was one of them. I pay my respects to that great son of India and other Indians who lost their lives in this accident.
“Friends, every stone in this memorial is a symbol of our citizens’ sensitivity to each other. We salute the guides of Saint-Gervais who helped in the discovery of the plane wreck after the accident. I had the opportunity to contact the families of those guides. I am grateful to those guides and their family members. I thank the Mayor of Saint-Gervais who played a very important role in the construction of this memorial. I express my gratitude to the Government of France, President Macron and the people of France for inviting me and I also thank you for giving me the opportunity to meet you all,” stated PM Modi.
–IANS
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