Thousands gather to pay final respects to soldiers of CASA 212 crash
VOV.VN - By the hundreds, people gathered beneath the cloud covered skies at the Hoan Vu Crematory in Hanoi on June 30 to pay their final respects to the nine fallen soldiers that lost their lives in the crash of the CASA 212.
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The aircraft disappeared on June 16 from radar 40 nautical miles southwest of Bach Long Vy island, a small island in the Gulf of Tonkin that sits halfway between mainland Vietnam and China’s Hainan island. |
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The coastguard plane was part of a mass mobilization of planes and ships searching for a jet fighter that had crashed earlier during a training mission off the coast of northern Nghe An province. |
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More than 1,000 mourners – including serving personnel, schoolchildren and local residents – stood in silence for one of the most emotional and grief stricken funerals Hanoi has ever seen. |
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“It's a day of solemn remembrance but also of celebration of these brave men’s lives,” said one fellow soldier. |
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“I hope everyone will always remember the true meaning of this day and in some small way appreciate what these brave men have done for all of us.” |
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“The moment I turned the corner and saw those coffins, I felt a change that melted my heart,” said a young lady, a friend of one of the soldiers. |
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“It’s a feeling like none other I have ever experienced.” |
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Fellow soldiers, family members, relatives and countrymen then lined city streets, clutching flowers including red and white roses, lilies, brightly coloured tulips and yellow daffodils. |
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At about 2:30 pm the bodies of the nine soldiers were cremated. |
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The remains will now be handed over to family members for final burial. |
