“Solidarity and friendship”: survivors and relatives of the 87 victims of the Mont Sainte-Odile crash, which occurred on January 20, 1992, commemorated on Sunday the thirty years of this tragedy which turned their lives upside down but “cemented” their relationships forever.
“There was the time for (legal) combat. Today, solidarity and friendship remain”, launched during the ceremony Bernard Laumon, the president of Echo, an association founded following the disaster, originally a rally at the accident site each year.
This Sunday, for the thirtieth anniversary of the disaster, more than a hundred people, relatives of victims and survivors, gathered in the snowy clearing, formed by the impact of the Air Inter A320 on Mount “La Bloss”, in the Mont Sainte-Odile massif.
On the stele engraved with the 87 names of the victims, families and survivors placed roses. The mayor of Barr, Nathalie Kaltenbach-Ernst, meanwhile, laid a wreath on behalf of the town where the crash took place.
“In memory of all of you!”, Launched, very moved, Alvaro Rendon, 76 years old. Historical figure of Echo, Mr. Rendon, who is the honorary president of the association, lost his wife in the accident.
“If justice has not won our case, an extraordinary story has been written and continues to be written for thirty years (…) a story cemented by unbreakable bonds”, estimated Isabelle Renard, whose father perished in the crash.
After more than 13 years of investigation and two river trials, justice has indeed ended up dismissing the civil liability of Airbus, recognized at first instance, and removed the compensation awarded to Echo. Six defendants had also been acquitted, at first instance and on appeal.
“Despite the grief, despite the frustration” that justice did not designate those responsible for this disaster, “it is this fight that we led (…) which made this union between us”, which still continues today, said Alvaro Rendon.
Isabelle Renard spoke of the “deep” and “indestructible friendship (…) gradually forged with the nine survivors who became our brothers” and “our family”.
“Echo is a micro-society, with all its diversity and yet there is such a bond that brings us together” and “which erases everything else”, explains Mr. Laumon, who lost his brother in the accident.
“Emotionally, sentimentally, it’s very strong. We simply love each other”, summarizes Claude Cohana, 62, survivor with her daughter Mélissande, 13 months at the time.