LTTE attack downed Lion Air plane in 1998 - TIU

Rakshana Sriyantha

The ill-fated Lion Air plane carrying 48 passengers and seven crew members which crashed into the sea near Iranativu Island on September 29, 1998 had been downed by an LTTE ground attack investigations made by the Terrorist Investigation Unit has revealed.

The TIU had established this through prolonged investigations which included the interrogation of Chief LTTE suspect named Arun held in remand custody following his arrest at Manipay Jaffna on June 13, 2011.

The Antonov 24 plane owned by Lion Air which was carrying 48 passengers and a seven member crew from Palaly to Ratmalana burst in flames and crashed into the sea near Iranativu island on September 29, 1998.

The TIU officials had coaxed the LTTE suspect Arun to confess the whole story relating to the attack on the plane by establishing a good rapport with him to win his confidence. During this period they had allowed the suspect's wife and two children to meet and enjoy meals with him and celebrate his birthday together with his family.

According to the confession made by the suspect, he had been assigned to attack the Lion Air plane by Milindan Master of the Sea Tiger Unit. Accordingly, he had met Milindan Master again on September 29, 1998 and thereafter taken to Iranativu island in an LTTE boat where he had fired a manually operated SAM ground to air missile at the ill fated plane which crashed with a bang immediately. After observing the plane crash he had thereafter fled to Pudukuduiruppu. Arun had also confessed that Milindan Master had later travelled in a boat and examined the crash site from where he had picked a part of the plane and picked up travel bags and wallets belonging to the dead passengers found floating in the sea. Milindan Master after sharing the money found in the wallets had got the LTTE leader to honour his fete by hosting him for dinner.

Arun said an attempt made by him to attack another plane had misfired and the LTTE meted out a punishment for him. In 2005, he had left the LTTE and gone to Qatar for employment.

On his return to Sri Lanka in 2010 he had resided with his family in Manipay until his arrest.

TIA had also received information that remains of 31 victims of the crash which were washed ashore had been buried in the Kavudarimunai beach.

Tirunawakarasu Subramaniam (48) who had functioned as the Grama Niladhari in the Kavudarimunai area had corroborated this evidence about the burial of the crash victims.

He had said the 31 bodies were buried with the assistance of the people in the area and records made about it.

Subramaniam had said the LTTE published the downing of the plane in its newspaper "Eelanadan" as a heroic deed but it later retracted and put the blame on the Security Forces after information that all 48 victims were Tamils.

Following these findings excavations were started in the Kavudarimunai beach to find the bodies of the victims.