‘It was amphibian aircraft but could not land on water due to rough sea’ PANAJI: Sixty-five-year-old Richard Gabeler, son of one of the eight victims of a Dutch air crash in Vasco in 1959, can return home in peace. The site of the tragic accident—known to just a few persons—has been found.Gabeler, who landed at Dabolim close to 4am from Holland on Monday, walked from his hotel to his father’s grave at St Andrew’s church cemetery at 8am. “I couldn’t sleep. The hotel is so close, I came walking,” he said. This is not his first trip to Goa, having joined other victims’ kin twice to pray for their dead in Vasco. The first was in June 10, 1996 –– the date of the air crash—and the second in 2009 when the Dutch Royal Navy held a remembrance with family members at the 16th century church.For most, the loss of a dear one 60 years ago would be a faded memory. But not so for Gabeler who was five and a half years old when the crash took place. This time, he made the trip alone after coordinating with some friends in Goa.The crash site at Alto Mangor was found with their help—300m from the old Dabolim runway. “One local resident, Maria Lobo, who was about 13 year old then had heard a funny noise, saw smoke come out of the aircraft as it crashed and broke into several pieces,” he said.“There were many witnesses but for years Richard and others hadn’t met anyone. For the first time in 60 years, my aunt Maria Lobo gave him a first-hand account of the tragedy and described the location,” Marise D’Lima, then a nearby resident said. D’Lima had herself seen the wreckage.Gabeler then posted a poem on social media on Wednesday talking about how his father has been laid to rest “underneath the palm trees”.Other victims’ kin in Holland and local friends were moved by his post and thrilled by his discovery.“After this visit, you should know that you have looked after your father the best possible way. What an amazing son and a wonderful, warm and generous-hearted person you are,” Sucheta Potnis, Gabeler’s family friend reacted.“During my two earlier trips in 60 years, I had just seen graves. I wanted to find the missing crash site. Now I am happy, it is a good feeling. Everything is in place,” he said.For Gabeler, who worked in the automotive sector and retired after eight years with Dutch Motor Sports Federation, the impact of the air tragedy hit him after three decades. “After I crossed my father’s age of 37, I started feeling sad about it,” he said.He immersed himself into research about his father and the air crash. “I joined the Royal Air Force Association. Here, I met Dutch people who had served with my father. Some had met him in New Guinea,” he said.His father’s documents had details of 54 missions in enemy territory in Germany, France, Belgium during World War II. He was in the Royal Air Force, flying in Dutch squadron, the famous 320 squadron. The Dutch had supported the Allies.Now, Gabeler has built a dossier about the air crash, including the aircraft’s radio contact with Madras and Mumbai air traffic control. Showing some of the documents, he started reading out from one about the last moments before the tragedy. “We are force-landing...” he read from the radio telegraphy transcript and broke down, as if it had just happened. Wiping his tears, he said, “It was an amphibian aircraft but could not land in the water due to rough sea.”For two days, he has arranged cleaning of the graves and pasted photos and details in English on each of them. “The gold lettering on them had faded and people couldn’t understand the details (in Dutch),” he said.On Wednesday, he posted another message to his friends. “This morning I went to buy some flowers (Goan style) and placed it on our loved ones’ graves. Again, another day with lots of emotions.”Gabeler is waiting for a special memorial service arranged at St Piety’s Chapel on Sunday. “Who knows, if I am in good health, I may return,” he smiled.

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