Well-Wishers of Canada, Including Senior Officials, Have Been Warning Against the Proliferation of Terror Groups | Bharat Dogra

On June 23, 1985 a bomb exploded in the Air India 182 Kanishka airplane flight from Canada to India, killing all 329 passengers and crew. This was till then (and before 9/11) the biggest terrorist attack involving passengers in word history. In fact the tragedy could have been much bigger— as a part of the same planning another suitcase bomb was to be placed in another Air India plane in Tokyo but this exploded at the airport itself killing two baggage handlers and injuring four. If this had been placed in the plane, again here too hundreds would have died.

Among the 329 passengers who died in Air India 182 explosion, the overwhelming majority (268) were Canadian citizens of Indian origin and most of the remaining (24) were Indian citizens.

The Honorable Bob Rae, former premier of Ontario, Canada, who was asked by the Canadian authorities to inquire into this tragedy, wrote in his report submitted to the Minister for Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness,