Forty-one years after a terrorist bomb exploded on Cubana Airline Flight 455, causing it to crash into the sea off the coast of St. James, Barbados killing all 73 of the passengers and crew, President of the Guyana Cuba Solidarity Movement (GCSM) Haleem Khan is repeating calls for the rejection and condemnation of all acts of terrorism.
“We refuse to forget, we demand justice in the names of all those lost to these unspeakable acts of terror. We shall not forget, and we shall not give up,” Khan said.
On October 06, 1976 when the aircraft exploded just after take-off from Barbados, there were 57 Cubans, 11 Guyanese and five North Koreans on board. The Cuban national youth fencing team were among the dead, as were a number of young Guyanese academic scholarship winners who were traveling to Cuba to pursue studies in medicine.
The names of the 11 Guyanese are: Eric Norton, 18 years old, Ann Nelson, 18 years old, Seshnarine Kumar, 18 years old, Jacqueline Williams, 19 years old, Rawle Thomas, 18 years old, wife of a former Guyanese diplomat Margaret Bradshaw, Economist Gordon Sobha, Violet Thomas, Rita Thomas, Raymond Persaud and nine year old Sabrina Harripaul, who perished
Investigations revealed that two types of bombs were used, variously described as dynamite or C-4.
A special commemoration is expected to be held on October 6, at the University of Guyana to mark the 41th anniversary of the Cubana Air Disaster which claimed the lives of 73 people, including 11 Guyanese.