Varela reopening 1994 plane crash probe

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Varela reopening 1994  plane crash probe

Posted on May 22, 2018 in Panama

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President Juan Carlos Varela plans to formally request the reopening of an investigation of a plane crash that killed 21 people in Panama 24 years ago.

It came 24 hours after the deadly bombing of a Jewish center in Buenas Aires.

“There is important information from international agencies, with enough elements that prove that it was an attack. This judicial information was requested and is about to arrive. We will meet with Panamanian and international authorities to request the reopening of the case, ” Varela said on Monday, May 27  at a National Police event.

Varela said that the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, informed him, in a letter delivered in November last year, that Israel’s intelligence confirmed that the Lebanese group Hezbollah was behind the downing of an Alas Chiricanas airline.

He met with Netanyahu last week in Israel, as part of an official tour that ended Saturday and in which they addressed this issue reports La Prensa.

“I received a letter from you, confirming that I lost my partner, a senior member of the Panamanian Jewish community in a terrorist attack carried out by Hezbollah in Panama.  Thanks for that information. We will share it with the family, and I will follow that case to make sure that justice is done,” said Varela in the meeting.

The Chiricanas plane  HP-1202  on Flight 00-901exploded in the air at 5:20 p.m. on  July 19, 1994, when flying over the province of Colón, only 6 kilometers from takeoff.

12 Jewish businessmen, another 6 passengers and 3 crew members died.

Alleged  bomber

Climatic conditions in the area were stable, and from the beginning possibility of an accident was ruled out.

The strong explosion split the plane into two and the bodies of the victims were scattered in an area of 400 meters.

The US  Federal Bureau of Investigation determined that suicide bomber Ali Hawa Jamal.activated the bomb.

 

http://www.newsroompanama.com/news/panama/varela-reopening-1994-plane-crash-probe