Dutch navy, kin visit 1959 war heroes grave

Members of the Royal Dutch-Navy along with family members payed respects to the eight Dutch officers who died in a tragic plane crash in 1959 at a simple ceremony held at St Andrew church, Vasco.

The eight officers died on June 10, 1959 when their plane a Martin Mariner P 306 crashed at Dabolim airport.
Parents, brothers and sisters, widows and fiancé of eight officers also offered prayers to the deceased.
Later wreaths were laid on the graves of the Dutch officers by the Flag Officer Commodore C D M J Lee bee followed by the relatives.
Mr Alfred Tuinman of Odyssey Tours Pvt Ltd speaking to Herald said that way back in 1959 a lot of military action was witnessed between Holland and Indonesia which was its colony.
He further said that the eight officers on board the Martin Mariner P 306 were returning back to Netherland after they noticed some technical fault in the plane.
On their journey back to Netherland 1 plane was scheduled to land at Karachi but as the problem was getting serious the plane had to make an emergency landing at the Dabolim airport.
The crew on board decided to first drop the fuel tanks. But as the plan failed, they decided to land. During the process of landing, the pilot lost control of the plane and as a result of which the plane hit the boundary wall of the Dabolim airport which resulted in the tragedy wherein four Dutch officers died on the spot and the other four officers died on way to the hospital.
The Portuguese who were then ruling Goa, took possession of the charred bodies and after a brief prayer service laid the bodies of eight officers in the cemetery of St Andrew church.
Fr Cromacio Mascarenhas who was the then chaplain took up the matter with the Dutch embassy as the bodies were laid to rest in the cemetery, but the embassy failed to get back to him.
Ms Adri Leissner who is the relative of one of the Dutch officers who died in the tragic plane crash claimed that Fr Mascarenhas main intention of getting in touch with Dutch embassy was after he realised that the graves were in dilapidated state.
Ms Leissner claimed the Fr Mascarenhas later got in touch Lidie Lansdaal widow of boat Commodore Petrus A M Lansdaal who died in the accident.
Fr Mascarenhas informed Ms Lansdaal to take up the matter with the Dutch Royal Navy so that something could be done at earliest to repair the damage done to the graves.
In1972 Fr Mascarenhas who returned back to St Andrew Church, Vasco as the parish priest met Ms Lansdaal who had come to pay tribute to her dear one and went back to take up the matter with the Dutch Royal Navy.
It was only when the Navy got in touch with the Netherland War Graves Foundation in 1959 that things were moving in the right direction to repair the damage.