Saturday, February 17, 2007
Work on the International Monument for those who died in the Tenerife aviation disaster
Work at the Mesa Mota mountain site
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Photo: © 2007 Foundation Relatives Victims Tenerife, AmsterdamThe Foundation Relatives Victims Tenerife yesterday announced they have donated the International Tenerife Memorial to the island's authorities. The Cabildo accepted the monument with gratitude: an artwork 18 metres tall designed by the Dutch artist Rudi van de Wint. Construction of the base for the International Tenerife Memorial is now underway and running according to plan. The Corten steel monument arrived on the Canary island of Tenerife unharmed at the end of January, aboard ship from Flushing (Vlissingen).
'De Wenteltrap' International Tenerife Memorial
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Photo: PR Newswire Photo ServiceThe artwork, entitled 'De Wenteltrap' (literally translated, spiral staircase) - The spiral theme is a symbol of infinity more - will serve as a monument to commemorate all the victims of the largest disaster in the history of civil aviation, which occurred on March 27, 1977 at Los Rodeos airport, Tenerife-Norte (TFN). KLM Boeing 747 flight number KL4805 crashed on the runway into a Boeing 747 of Pan American Airlines (Pan Am 1736). All 248 people aboard the KLM aircraft died; 335 of the 396 aboard the Pan Am aircraft perished, with 61 survivors.
The International Tenerife Memorial is being sited on the Mesa Mota mountain, in the municipality of San Cristobal de la Laguna. On March 27, 2007 the unique artwork monument will be unveiled in the presence of Spanish, American and Dutch surviving relatives and government representatives.
Prior to the formal dedication, for the first time since the disaster occurred 30 years ago there will be an international memorial service in the Auditorio de Tenerife, in the port of the capital, Santa Cruz. Dutch and Spanish heads of state have been invited to both ceremonies.
Full Release | More images can be found on the Association's website
Labels: Tenerife Disaster
