Paris, August 24, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Officials of the Indian Embassy in France paid tribute on Monday to the victims of the 1950 and 1966 Air India crashes at the memorial at Nid d’Aigle in Mont Blanc, marking seven years since the memorial was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Deputy Chief of Mission Eenam Gambhir laid a wreath at the memorial, which honours those who lost their lives in the two Air India aircraft crashes.
The 1966 disaster also claimed the life of Homi J Bhabha, the pioneering Indian nuclear physicist and architect of the country’s nuclear programme.
During her visit, Gambhir met Saint-Gervais-les-Bains Mayor Jean-Marc Peillex and thanked the municipality for its continued care of the Air India memorial at Nid d’Aigle.
The discussions focused on continued cooperation in preserving the shared site of remembrance and strengthening people-to-people ties between India and France.
The Indian Embassy in France said on X that it was grateful to Mayor Peillex and the municipality for organising the commemorative ceremony. Gambhir also visited Le Fayet cemetery and paid tribute to the victims.
The memorial was digitally inaugurated by Prime Minister Modi during his visit to France on August 23, 2019.
Speaking at a community reception in Paris on the same day, Modi had recalled the two Air India crashes in France and paid tribute to the Indian passengers who died in the disasters, including Bhabha.
Modi also acknowledged the role of Saint-Gervais guides who helped locate the aircraft wreckage following the crashes and expressed gratitude to their families. He thanked the mayor of Saint-Gervais, the French government, President Emmanuel Macron and the people of France for their role in establishing and maintaining the memorial.
The memorial continues to serve as a site of remembrance for the victims and as a symbol of the ties between India and France.
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